She Refused to be a Swooner
by DancingThroughStars
Summary: "I always have a blast in public restrooms." - Felicity Smoak and Oliver Queen banter. There is an engagement with talks of a cowboy themed wedding. Wallets are stolen. A kitten is stuck in a tree. Oliver is protective. Felicity is brilliant. Hiding under a table in public is always best when you need a moment to yourself. Oh, and someone's dad is wanted by the authorities.
1. Chapter 1

Her pretzel was in her lap. Correction, her mustard covered pretzel was mustard side down in her lap. Today was not her day. When Felicity's father had told her that he had a surprise for her, nothing could have prepared her for this.

Sweating like a pig, her blonde hair plastered to the back of her neck, the blistering Starling City summer sun pelting at her with its harmful UV rays, watching men swing a piece of wood attempting to hit a ball and running around trying to make it back to home plate in ninety-plus degree weather.

Then there was the fact that she was seated next to a hefty man, who had clearly been pre-gaming it in the parking lot and had been trying to start the wave. Nothing can be worse than sitting to the person, attempting to start a wave, and not getting the hint it'll never happen. Actually the only thing worse could be when said man makes another attempt at the wave, and as he springs out of his chair, throwing his hands up in the air, he takes out her pretzel causing the predicament that she found herself in now.

Felicity knew full well that the moment she tried to wipe it away with a napkin it would just smear and be an even bigger stain.

"Dad," she stood up, "I'm going to the restroom." An unfamiliar wallet in his hand caught her attention, so this wasn't just a father daughter bonding day. No, he was here doing some simple business. That just added the cherry to the top of everything, seeing as they could get a bigger hit doing nearly anything else. Pickpocketing was amateur hour.

"Alright Peanut, having fun?"

"I cannot put into words the amount of fun I'm having sitting in the blistering sun watching overpaid athletes playing catch." She stopped in front of him, "Don't cause trouble, you promised me a full year. I don't want to have to move again."

"Fine, fine, fine. Have fun." She rolled her eyes as she scooted past, a smile tugging lightly at her brightly painted lips.

"I always have a blast in public restrooms."

She looked like she had wet herself, there was still the yellow smear of mustard on her jeans, but now there was also a nice large wet spot where she had attempted to scrub out the mustard; which was why she was now attempting to dry her pants with the hand drier. The only downside to this whole plan was the fact that drier was near to door way, which lacked a door, meaning any of the passersby could see Felicity, gripping the drier, bringing her hips up to it. This was not how she wanted to spend her Saturday, and the only thing that was stopping her from banging her head against the wall was that no one had stopped to watch her strange action.

The moment that silly thought flitted into her brain, a guy who was walking pass did a double take. She shifted her eyes just for a moment, he stood where he had stopped, a hand rubbing the back of his neck; he didn't look like he was going anywhere.

"Take a picture it'll last longer." Though her voice sounded bored, her face began to flush, however this didn't stop her from turning to him, narrowing her blue eyes in, what she hoped, was a threatening manner.

"Just trying to figure out what you are doing." He sounded amused taking a few steps closer.

The dryer stopped, she pushed the button to bring it back to life and continue the fun drying process. Felicity really did not want an audience for this. Not by this guy. Not today.

"Having tea with the Queen, I know I should be out there cheering with the crowd, but who can pass up an opportunity like this?" Her words where meant to deter him, hostile sarcasm was a hint to many as 'leave me alone,' but this guy just let a smirk tug at his lips and took a step closer. Alarm bells had begun to go off in her head, the ones screaming 'danger, danger, danger'. Though, they were screaming danger for all the wrong reasons.

He was one of those people that could smile and everyone around him would be tripping over themselves. Felicity was never one of those people though, her father had taught her the art of not to be conned by a pretty face, she couldn't see why he would have stopped in the first place.

This guy was the walking definition of sex. With the hair and the scruff and the piercing blue eyes and easy smile and body, which was hidden by clothing, but if the way his shirt pulled across his chest and the size of his arms was any indication, then it was all good. And she was babbling in her own head about a random guy's appearance as she was in the bathroom He was bored and found her as a form of entertainment; she could picture the headline going through his head, 'Girl with crotch on drier.' The only bright side that she could find was that he was obviously a few years older than herself, meaning that there wasn't even the remotest possibility that he'd end up at the same school as her. That helped ease her embarrassment.

"You're a snarky one." He had moved closer, so that he was leaning against the door-frame, barely less than half and arm's length away. All of his attention was directed at her and she felt heat curl in her stomach. Dear her, he was an attractive man with a body that she could climb, not that she could say that to him. Well she could, but she wouldn't. She was fighting her embarrassment enough and this guy didn't need another girl to be swooning over him.  
He probably had enough swooners.  
She refused to be a swooner.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment; thank you kind sir. I think it might be one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me, I'm going to put that into a special place in my heart. Truly, you are a poet and should consider writing sonnets and such." her pants were still slightly damp, they needed one more go around with the dryer, she pushed the button and began the drying process again. Their eyes were still locked on each other.

"Now, don't get all crazy stalker on me. I know I just made your day."

Her left eyebrow shot up "Oh, hun," she rolled her eyes in a theatrical way, "it's going to be on, cause I'm a crazy stalker type of girl; I'm going to find you on Twitter and Facebook, Really, it's in my skill set to find you anywhere on the internet. Spread it around to all of your friend that you confessed your undying love for me, in the girls' bathroom none the less, and that we're planning our wedding." The drier had stop and Felicity rotated her body to face him, leaning against the opposite side of the door frame, "I want a short engagement, only a couple of months at tops. What do you think; a late fall wedding, with a western theme? I'll get you spurs, and a little cowboy hat."

"Shouldn't I ask your father for his blessing?." There was a teasing note to his tone, and it filled her with an unexpected lightness.

"Really going to go with an archaic tradition? Maybe see how many goats I'm worth?"

"Hey, my parents raised me to be a gentleman. But how much do you think I could get father?"

"We're good for at least two goats. Possibly a chicken and old computer counsel, if you're lucky. Now that my pants are dry, I have to go spread our happy news, but before I go, can I have a lock of your hair so I can rub it and think of you?"

The flow of conversation was quick, keeping Felicity on her toes, all the while her smile becoming more and more genuine. And she knew this was pointless. That the moment she walked away that this was going to be gone. This was just another page in her book and just a blimp on his radar. Granted, she could always use means to find him, but that was taking it to the super creepy stage, and of course just asking him for his number or giving him hers wasn't something that would make sense. Because he wasn't the guy who would text the girl he met passing by the girls' restroom, and she would be too embarrassed once they parted ways.

"Sorry, I have strict rules, only way you're getting a lock of hair is after a third date." He'd move so that he was looming over Felicity, with a hand supporting his weight on the wall beside Felicity. He had a full head on her in height which caused her to have to crane her neck up to look him in the eye. This guy was use to getting what he wanted, he was good looking, charming, and he knew it; too bad she wasn't the type to give into anyone, at least that's what she was telling herself. Stand strong girl.

"Well damn," Felicity formed her words slowly, enjoying how his gaze flicked between her lips and her eyes. It was clear what he wanted, "that's not going to happen, and it just occurred to me that my plan has a lot of work involved in it, so I'm just going to be the remarkable person that I normally am. Sorry, I could tell you were looking forward to the wedding. Just know, it's not me, it's you."

"My heart just broke." That teasing note was still in his voice, even as he spoke in a softer tone, leaning in closer, so that only a few inches separated them. Dear god he was hot.

"Sucks, doesn't it?"

He smiled at her words. It was bright and full and sent chills down her back while heat coursed through her veins. He was oh so very dangerous.

"It'd suck less if I knew your name."

"That's never going to happen." Felicity shook her head, fighting back a smile, "I don't give my name to strange men. But, hey, who knows, maybe if we meet again, I'll give you a break."

"Well, how about a kiss to remember you by till then?" His lips where a breath away, Felicity's gaze lowered to them before lifting to meet his incredibly blue eyes. He had said till then. Did he actually expect for them to meet again? She all but shook the thought from her mind.

"Nope," letting her 'p' pop, her lips lightly grazed his before she ducked past his arm, making sure to brush up against him as she passed; with an extra swag in her step she made her way back to her father and the game, a new wallet tucked safely away in the back pocket of her jeans.

* * *

Notes:

So, I had this thought of Felicity being raised by her father, and maybe some of that life style rubbing off on her...and really, I loved the thought of her being able to pickpocket Oliver's wallet while flirting with him.  
And I went with it.


	2. Chapter 2

She was in a tree. She was stuck in a fracking tree and she was fairly certain that with any movement she was going to fall to her death, because the branch she was perched on did not feel strong enough and the ground was an awfully far distance away.

This was not how she'd expected to spend her last day of spring break in Central City. The past week was really a blur of laughter and family normalcy which she'd rarely experienced before, but her life hadn't been one that of normal. No, she had lived the life according to her father's whim, however strategic and thought-out that whim might be, they lived a life where he always needed to be ten steps ahead of his opponent; and he always was.  
Then two years ago she got into MIT and dove head on into her academics; she almost wished she hadn't taken all those extra courses that would cause her to graduate in this December. Her life found a sense of grounding for the first time and she didn't want to give that up. But she was ready to start living it on her terms.

She had nearly jumped at the chance when Caitlin had asked her to come home with her for the holidays after the fall out that Felicity had with her father over the winter break; to be in a normal family, to see how they interacted had been refreshing. As nice as the past week had been Felicity had wanted a moment to herself and seeing as she couldn't just lock herself in her room, she found herself wandering around Central City.

Until she found herself in this blasted tree, because she was too kind hearted for her own good. Now she was gripping the branch that supported her with shaking arms and questioning her lunch choice since she was certain it was going to be coming up at some point in the future. She had no plan. This was how she was going to die.

She had resigned herself to this fate. She had had a good run. A decent life. A few, many, near misses. But no one could say that Felicity Megan Smoak hadn't lived a full life, well not so much in the love department. A girl did deserve one outstanding kiss before dying in a tree but there was nothing to do about that now.

In fact, she had just started to go through worse ways to die when she heard her salvation. A gruff male's voice which was speaking in a hurried way as though he was annoyed, and she didn't give a rat's ass because he was going to be her savior. Now just to get his attention.

She swiveled her head in the direction of the voice, barely making out his silhouette through the leaves, he was alone. Hopefully he was talking on a phone and not a crazy person.

"Excuse me!" His stream of conversation stopped and she saw his shoulders move, "You on the phone. This is the voice of god. Come to the tree." She added please as an after-thought. Why hadn't she just asked him to come over in such a weird way? She had surely just scared off someone who could have gotten her help. Why didn't she just yell 'help I'm stuck in a tree'?

She was chastising herself and didn't notice the man until he was ten feet from the base of the tree. Bright blue eyes looked up at her. Scratch that familiar bright blue eyes looked up at her. A memory flashed in Felicity's head, of leaning on a door frame, with the guy leaning into her, smiling at her quick words.

She was sixteen when she'd taken his wallet. Something she'd vowed she'd never do, but in that moment she figured she'd take it and maybe return it later on and get to know him better, and give her the upper hand if they met again. His driver's license let her know that he was four years her senior, three depending on the day in May. There was also his college ID, a couple of cards, a single hundred dollar bill, and one lonely condom - at least the boy was prepared.

Still, she'd taken her time to look deeper into him after that initial meeting. He had peaked her interest and she was not one to be intrigue so much by such little interaction; computers intrigued her, hacking, but people, not so much. There was a disjunction she felt around the majority of the population and she figured it came with knowing that she was the smartest one in the room without fail ninety-nine percent of the time, but she had not felt that disjunction with him. So, the first free moment she had, she found her fingers flying over a keyboard to find out who he was.

It hadn't taken long. But nothing would have prepared her from the results.  
That was the first time she had actively kept something from her father.  
It was also the reason why she had never sought him out after the bathroom incident. She'd never returned his wallet nor did she ever expect to see him again.  
Until now that is.

"Is that you God? You're much more attractive than I would have thought." He was still a charmer, even if his smile seemed more rehearsed than what it had been three years ago. There was something harder about him than there had been.

"I regret to inform you that I'm not actually God, I just said that to lure you under me. And by under me, I mean under this tree." His smile widened barely and he cocked his head as she felt her face flush, her only saving grace was she was certain her wouldn't remember her and if there was the remote possibility that he did, he surely wouldn't recognize her; she had been blonde, where now her hair was black and she wore a fair amount of dark makeup.  
"I'm stuck you see and need you to call the fire department to come rescue me. They rescue kittens, they can come rescue me."

"And how did my fiancé get herself stuck in a tree." Or he could remember and recognize her, so that she was now certain to die of humiliation.

"First, I'm certain that I called off that engagement so there should be an 'ex' in-front of fiancé. Second, I scaled this monster of a tree because I was being a courageous wonderful human and saving a tiny kitten."

"Where's the kitten?"

"Turns out it didn't need saving."

"And you're still in the tree…"

"Because I recently discovered that I am terrified of heights. Now are you going to call so that I can be saved or are you going to leave me stranded because I broke your heart?" Their dialogue was rapid fire and he had taken long strides shortening the space between the two of them to where he was standing right below her.

"Alright bathroom girl, I'm going to come save you." She had stolen his wallet and now he was coming to rescue her, this was just fabulous. The earth looked a hell of a lot closer now than it had before he appeared.

"That's the best nickname you got? And this branch will not support the both of us. Not calling you fat, but you're large and muscly, and this branch could not handle all that you've got going on." She motioned with limited movement to his whole person. How had he managed to get even more attractive? Because she had been fairly certain she'd elaborated his attractiveness in her head, and right now he was by passing it by leaps and bounds. Life was cruel.

"I know which is why I'm going to need you to trust me." His voice was lower, softer than it had been before, and every nerve of her body trusted this man who she met once. It went against everything he father had taught her; her father was a big believer in the whole 'trust no one' ideology. With her heart slamming against her chest she gave him the smallest nod possible because what else was she going to do?

"Okay, I need you to swing half of your body down. Move so you're resting your stomach on the branch and your legs are both on the same side." With slow shaky movements and his warm encouraging words she swung one leg over the branch, gripping it awkwardly still with all her might. Then she felt a warm firm touch just above the back of her knee, his one hand was gripping her the other found a spot low on her thigh. "Now I need you to trust me and yourself and just keep bringing yourself down. That's my girl."

She would let the 'my girl' reference go because right now she was just focused on lowering inch by measured inch off the branch. One hand was now wrapped her thigh and his free hand had a firm grip on her hip, she could feel his tight muscles as she slid down further, "I might be up for putting our engagement back on the table after you saving me from dying in a tree."

"I don't know. You left me extremely heart broken." His voice had a rough undertone that caused her to flush. It was times like these that she was happy she was in a position that he couldn't see her face, though he was getting a good feel of her body. He changed his grip on her, when she was mostly off the branch and it was him supporting the majority of her weight. His arm snaked around her, high on her thigh, and she felt his chin brush against her low on her stomach as he tilted his head back, "Joined the army to get over the heart ache."

His other hand had slid up to her waist, finding its home in the natural dip and applying pressure. It was a nonverbal way of him telling her that he had her, and to let go of the last bit of tree, but she wasn't ready just yet. Not ready to give up some of the support she felt from the branch that she had been clinging on to.

"Not that sounds like a lie. You don't seem like the type who would end up in the army especially because of a girl." Billionaire. Playboy. He had stolen a taxi, urinated on a cop, and assaulted a paparazzi, all within the span of a year. She knew his bio, had combed through the information on him. He would have been a prime target for her father and she had hid it from him.

"You're right. I signed up a year later and figured it was time to get my life back in order. The army did help heal the gaping hole that was left after our last meeting." He said in a light manner, but Felicity could hear the weight under his words. It was as though he wanted to talk about it but in the same breath didn't and she knew that feeling all too well.

"And now here you are in Central City saving girls from trees." She teased, bring the attention back to the situation they found themselves in. "Why are you here? In Central?"

"On a short leave before heading back and I had a friend to visit in the city. Now are you going to let go or are we going to stay in this position all day? Not that you'll hear me complain."

"I figured this could be a new form of exercise for you. Put those big muscles of yours to use. Maybe have it where I could hire you just to carry me around tone, we'll call you my 'bicep chariot.'" She was rambling and they both knew it. She just needed to buy some more time before letting go.

There was a heavy pause before she let go her hands going instinctively to his short hair, and felt his strength as he held her up as though she were a feather. She felt light and high and dizzy and safe with his arm wrapped around her and the other gliding her body as she moved closer to the ground. Her hands had found themselves on his shoulders and her lips were parted without her consent.

He was all hard lines and sex, and she was finding it hard to remember how to breathe. They were all heat and she was certain they would be reaching a combustible point soon. Her body was pressed to his and their eyes were locked together, then her feet were on the ground and the world came screaming back to her.

Even with her father out of her life, her life was not meant for people like him; she had protected him once. "Look at you being a hero, saving me from certain death." Teasing ground she was good with, just keep the sass and words coming and get out of his wonderful arms so that she could grab her bag. This was the plan.

"You do know you were only ten feet up." His voice was low and warm as one of his hands explored the lines of her back.

"Someone knows how to talk himself out of a win."

"It's a gift." He said with a self-deprecating tone. That was unexpected.

"At any rate, thank you." She patted his chest awkwardly. "I don't know how I can ever repay you for your valiant act."

"How about we start with your name? I could continue to call you bathroom girl."

"Still so stuck on the name thing." Names were tricky and she had no desire to lie to him about hers. If he were nearly anyone else it would have been an easy response, easy to give a small smile and her name. But he was someone who would be a target by knowing her. He was better off not knowing her, it was for his benefit that he not know her name, even if it was just her first one. Now was the point where she needed to find an exit strategy. Really badly

"I like to know who I'm taking on a date." She gave him a look with a raised eyebrow, he was so charming. Everything about him oozed Prince Charming. "Plus I like to know who to credit for taking my wallet."

"That's not something you can prove." Felicity spoke in a husky tone that was foreign to her own ears. A hand had found its way to her cheek as the smiled at one another, his fingers wrapping themselves in her hair. "We were at a ballpark, there were many people around, you could have lost your wallet at any time."

He was so close and filled all of her senses. So close that to an outside observer they would be a couple having an intimate conversation. He dipped his head down lower, his eyes flicking down to her lips, asking permission. She couldn't give him her name, but this, this was something she could give to both of them; one moment and then they would go back to separate orbits.  
She wasn't giving in to him. She wasn't turning into goo at his feet. She wasn't giving him what he wanted. No she was going to be selfish and take this for herself, a moment that she had dreamt of, that she had no right to.

Her hands found his forearm, his hand cupping her face, and she pushed herself up the slightest distance to meet his lips. He gave into her. It was the only way to describe how he kissed. Tentative at first, building slowly, giving into movements and matching what she gave, till she was breathless and clinging to him. She pulled away breathing heavily with her heart pounding in her ears, the distant sound of a phone ring pulled her out of her fog.

He was cursing under his breath, digging into his pocket to answer the caller. Felicity took that moment to collect herself and her bag. After a kiss like that, he could have asked her for her social security number and she would have given it to him. She needed to leave.

He was talking in a curt hushed tone into the phone with his backed turned to her, she wasn't seen as a threat. The hardness she'd noticed earlier was back in full. The call had had him tense, taken the moment away. Gave her a window to flee.

Taking several long quick steps over to where the grass met pavement and managed to get a cab instantly. Seemed like the universe was back on her side. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement from him, he was looking for where she went then his eyes caught hers.

That look in his eyes caused a wave of heat to roll through her, he hadn't intended for that to be an ending. She needed to head back to Boston tonight and make a point where she couldn't be tracked.

"Until next time Oliver." She gave him a bright smile and quick wave, before ducking into the taxi and telling the driver to just go. Leaving behind Oliver Jonas Queen for the second time and for the second time without his wallet.

Her lips still tingling from their kiss.

* * *

Notes:

I know that some have made it known that they would like more to this story. It had been intended to be a one-shot, but hey, I wrote another chapter, because I heard everyone's comments and I really hope this is on par with the first one. I have a really vague idea to continue, but I am leaving soon for Europe for a bit so I don't want to make promises that I can't keep.

For this chapter, I was thinking was I wanted them to have a weird second meeting, but to make it more intimate and for it to show a bit of change in both. I'm wanted Oliver to be a bit more broody and Felicity to be finding herself.  
From what I gather from the show and the wonderful internet, Felicity was born in 1989 and graduated MIT in 2009, which meant she graduated at 19, so I had to do some math to kinda figure out how old everyone was at this point. She's 18 here and Oliver is 22. And yes she takes his wallet again, because she can, and because I think it's funny.

Oh gosh, I really hope I haven't failed this story.


	3. Chapter 3

Oliver Jonas Queen was an idiot. It was the only explanation that her brain could come up with as her fingers flew about the keyboard making purposeful hard strikes, her focus fully on the screen which was full of information that was deemed top secret from an agency that she wasn't supposed to know existed. But here she was. Hacking into their system.

This was her penance for stealing his wallet. Twice.

Not only was he an idiot, he was an idiot with good intentions and too smart for his own good when it came to actions like this. He just had to go after the Triad.

He had just gotten back from being undercover in the Russian mob, where he had been through hell and back, and he clearly needed time to rest and acclimate. But no, here she was tracking his movements, because this man clearly had a death wish. And something in her refused to let that happen to him.

There was something great about him and she wasn't sure that he realized it. Felicity had been worried about him working for Amanda Waller, seeing as she wasn't that woman's biggest fan and she knew what that woman was capable of. Felicity had found out what Waller had Oliver do when she'd plucked him from the Army and sent him on a training mission in Hong Kong; seems she thought Oliver had a talent for torture. She'd been right.

But they had pulled Oliver from field work and he'd walked out on the agency.

He was angry and hard, and she didn't know his whole story, because none of it was from him, it was all information that she'd managed to hack.

Hack really was such an ugly word.

She was accessing information electronically without consent.

That sounded a bit worse actually.

Hell, the wording didn't matter. What mattered was that Oliver Queen, in all his idiotic stubborn glory, had decided to track the Triad, and was now on his way towards them. Felicity pushed up her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose, she was going to have to contact Waller and it looked like she was going to Coast City's hottest new club. Nothing more cliché than a criminal ring running from inside a club.

With a few select strokes, Felicity pushed herself back in her chair waiting for Amanda Waller's face to appear on the screen, dreading what would happen when that time came. She'd just settled in just outside of Coast and had set up a simple routine, managed to get the police off of her back, and after this event which she was wedging herself into she figured it would be time to move once more.

"Ms. Smoak. How did you get this line?" Waller's face came into view. There was never a point to hide. They knew who she was, who her father was, and had already assessed that although she was a nuisance - she was no threat.

That could be Felicity's tagline, 'I'm a nuisance but not a threat.'

"Quite easily actually. You might want you might want to have your people at least give me a challenge."

"Is there a reason to this call or are you wasting my time?"

"China White is going to be in Coast City, the Triad is running out of a club, I'll send you the information. Though I'm sure this is all old news to you."

"Good-bye Ms. Smoak." The call ended. It was time to get ready to save Oliver Queen, again.

Over the past three years since the tree incident, she had kept an eye out on him. It had started out as her just looking into his army career and then about a month later she had realized that there was an error in the information they were getting. She'd managed to get in touch with one of her father's old acquaintances and the error was corrected within the hour. Then when Amanda Weller came into the picture, Felicity kept an eye on him, and would give tips to Weller when she felt it was vital to his life. Felicity's spare time was spent making sure that Oliver stayed alive.

Now they were in the same city for the first time in since that kiss and she was walking into the fire because there was something about him that told her he was worth all of this headache. It's why she found herself in a short tight dress walking into a club full of people who would probably love to take her to the back to have a chat if they knew who she was.

The club was dark and smoky, bodies were pressed close together on the dance floor moving with the pounding music. She was going to embed this man with a tracking device at the next opportunity because it would make her whole looking after him ten times easier.

Moving through the crowd with surprising grace, swaying her hips away from unwanted touches, she made her way to the bar as she looked around the room for any sign of him. He would want to be out of the main line of vision yet not look like he was sneaking around and was extremely well trained. Leaning against the bar she pursed her lips surveying the darker reaches of the building out of the corner of her eye before giving the bartender her best smile before ordering a drink, just to have something to keep in her hand. It was a way to brush off guys who tried to strike up conversation.

After dismissing the third guy within the span of a half hour a familiar form caught her attention. He was moving through the crowd with ease, a charming smile plastered on his face, looking as though he was royalty and this was his kingdom.

Now to get him out before he got himself killed.

Placing her untouched drink on the bar she advanced through the crowd towards him as casually as she could. Moving her body with the music till she was a step away from him and she didn't know what made her do it. She'd done it twice already. And the thought of taking his wallet was the first thing she thought of. Not just randomly bumping into him and acting surprised, no. No, that would be a normal person move; Felicity went to palm his wallet.

His hand was on her wrist, eyes blazing, jaw set; well he was definitely more aware. Then his eyes ifocused on her and he soften instantly, his grip lightened though he pulled her closer; It was all half real.

"Nice to see you've become a bit more perceptive to a hand in your pants." Felicity pushed up to all but yell in his ear over the volume in the room and instantly regretted the way the sentence bubbled from her lips. "Not that I've done that before of course."

His hand came to rest on the flare of her hip as he gave her a real smile for half a second. She saw it in his eyes, he was focused on the mission he had in his head, and she needed to get him out of the club before he did something stupid.

"This is when we banter back and forth, only this time I'm not stuck in an embarrassing situation." He was tense and holding on to her as though he was ready to pick her up and run at any moment. Reaching up she touched his face lightly, "Hey, Oliver, is everything alright?"

His mask slide half-way on again. He was worried about her being here. She was an unexpected deviate from his plan. And what was she really going to say, 'I've been watching over you for the past three years because I'm a hacking genius and know what you're planning tonight and it's stupid and I won't let you do it.' No, clearly that would not work.

"Trust me?" He asked, his lips skimming her skin before drawing back and looking at her. Felicity gave a nod.

He was moving them away from the crowd toward a darkened corner, his hand slid down from her wrist and interlacing his fingers with hers as he pulled her farther from the noise. She needed Waller's people to show up or she needed to get Oliver out of the club. He pushed her up against a wall with a light amount of force but it was enough to cause her to gasp; anyone walking by would think that they were just a couple who wanted a moment alone.

He had changed so much; he was hard and distant, but here he was, taking precious time away from his mission to pull her aside. There was that light in him. That fire that had called to her when they first met six years ago, it was still burning, even if it was light. Her hand, that wasn't tangled in his, rested on his bicep and she gave it a squeeze to pull his focus back to her. The thumping music seemed to fade into the background as his eyes swept over her, his expression transitioning between hard and soft. What had he gone through?

"You're blonde again."

"That's why you pulled me here. To comment on my hair color?" A hint of a smile pulled at his lips, then was gone as quick as it had appeared. The mask was sliding back into place and Felicity half wanted to hit him.

"You should leave." It wasn't a suggestion.

"Hey…"

"You need to go." He said in a deep intimidating growl. Felicity pushed herself up to his chest, invading his space as much as he invaded hers, she refused to let him push her around. She wasn't in this club because she wanted to be. She didn't contact Waller because she wanted girl time. She didn't walk into an establishment crawling with people who would love to torture her just for yucks. No, Felicity was being a badass because Oliver Queen had his head shoved so far up his own ass.

"Look here mister." Poking him in his chest seemed like a wise idea at the time, "You do not get to order me around. Ever. I trusted you to pull me to this dark dingy corner and not murder me, because let's face it I have a worse track record than you when it comes to our meetings, but that trust only gets you so far. Now, if you want me to leave, I'm going to need you to come with me, because I rather not be worried about you until our next meeting."

"I need you safe."

"But you don't need to be safe?" She asked stubbornly, the muscle in his jaw ticked in response. There was a pregnant pause where the noise of the club washed over them and Felicity watched as he fought a war with himself, taking the moment to look over all the hard lines that made up his face. It seemed like he was older than his twenty-six years and he was no longer that cocky kid who had bantered with her in the bathroom at a ballpark.

"We're leaving." Felicity couldn't help the triumphant smile that lit up her face at his words. Slipping from around him, she tugged on his hand toward a door she knew led to the alley out back. It was the quickest way to get out of the club and now she just needed to figure out what to do with him. She was getting him safely away, without him getting himself killed which was a giant perk, but how long could she really hold his attention?

Granted she'd managed to hold his attention for longer than she'd ever expected. Six years. Now she was stuck playing guardian angel to a man hell-bent on trying to get himself killed. Waller and her people need to get here fast.

The September night air had a crisp bite to it but it was welcoming after the confines of the club. "I'm trusting you to pull me into a dark backstreet, where no one can hear me scream, but I still don't know your name."

"What? You can't just enjoy the time I give to you?" Felicity sent him her best smile and applauded herself at the way she managed to pull a real smile from the stony man whose fingers were intertwined with hers.

"You know my name."

"That's only because you were oblivious to me pick-pocketing you. Twice I might add. Now, where should we go? I tell you that club was very lack luster and super stuffy." Pausing at the end of the alley, she looked up at him, at his harden face and brilliant eyes. If only she'd held on to that whole marriage proposal in the bathroom. Granted she was certain that if he ever found out who her father was, that spark of interest in his eyes would quickly fade away.

"Why were you there then?"

"New to the city, was exploring the hot spots." That sounded plausible enough, "How about you? Hope I didn't ruin your evening. You're kinda all tense and grr." She did a motion of a bear claw with her free hand and he nearly smiled, but tensed a second later.

Swiveling on his feet, he pulled Felicity behind him, their hands still tucked together. Dim voices could be heard, though they were growing closer speaking in a foreign tongue. Rounding the corner, three figures emerged, one of them with long white hair.

Frack. Frack. Double Frack.

"Oliver?" He was tense, like a band about to snap.

Great. She had come here to keep him safe and now she'd walked him out only to run into the people that he would be after. They just needed to keep walking, and they were, surprisingly. He put up no sort of battle, he was tense, but was walking with her out of the alleyway.

"I'm thinking that we need burgers. And milkshakes. And of course fries, I mean really, you need fries to go with the burger and shakes." Felicity babbled on, pressing herself against his arm feeling the muscles, they were very nice muscles and something that she would need to admire once they were out of harm's way.

They were just so muscly and big. He could easily lift her up with one of them if he wrapped it around her back and if she locked her legs around…

This was not the time to be going down that fantasy road.

And with that thought, the shit hit the proverbial fan. Frack.

"Mr. Queen, leaving so soon? I thought you wanted a word." The stunning woman with cascading white hair and shape almond shaped eyes called from behind their retreating forms. Oliver tensed, and Felicity could almost feel him mentally suiting up to go head to head. But she was there and could feel how tore he was.

With a level voice and a practiced smile, Oliver moved forward extending a hand in greeting while subtly shifting Felicity to shield her with his body. She really didn't need too much of the Triad's attention, like none at all. She wasn't the biggest fan of torture and had been blessed that there had really only been one incident two years back. How many times could one tell baddies that one doesn't have a single idea where one's father might be?

Apparently more times than one would think. The scum of the earth weren't really the brightest of people.

Why would China White call out to them anyways? If she wanted to kill them she'd have slit their throats. Felicity wondered how quick Oliver's reflexes had gotten, he'd been quick on the wallet deal and she'd never been caught in all her twenty-two years of life.

"Ms. White, we'll have to get together another time, my apologizes. You have a wonderful establishment." Felicity's fingers itched for her phone, for something to do to be useful. Well more useful.

Where the frack was Waller?

She sensed the three men come up behind them, years spent looking over her shoulder had honed that skill, and she knew by the slightly tick in Oliver's jaw that he felt them as well. The Triad was circling them in.

A glint of a blade appeared in the woman's grip, she brought it up to caress it lovingly with the tip of a well-manicured figure.

"We will talk now Mr. Queen. I'd hate for there to be any bad blood between us." The smile she wore was predatory. Felicity had the feeling she wanted nothing more than to spill both their bloods. This is what happened when she tried to help.

"I'd hate that as well. Let me see my date to the car and then I'm all yours."

"No." Well, she was just being unreasonable. Then the sound of a gunshot cracked through the air and Felicity felt warm liquid spray across the side of her dress and along her exposed neck.

The world exploded. Waller's men had arrived and they had no qualms about getting a little (a lot) of blood on their hands, neither did the Triad. Oliver had pulled her to a darken section, shielding her with his body, putting himself first in line if they were going to come for them.

Felicity looked up at him. Fierce, powerful and terrifying. There was only the barest hint of the boy she'd met all those years ago. Placing a hand on his cheek, she relished in the way his stubble scrapped across her palm. Her thumb rubbed absently across his bottom lip. Every one of his sense was in high alert and she knew he was about to jump to the fray of bullets and knives and heavens only knows what else. Pulling her close with the large hand he hand wrapped along the back of her neck, his lips hungrily met hers. It was as if he knew this was the end and he was going to take all he could before he couldn't anymore. The kiss was hard and desperate with no finesse and so utterly perfect that it nearly broke Felicity's heart because she knew that was a kiss goodbye. To the sounds of chaos, their tongues met and fire pooled deep in her stomach. They were both desperate for different reasons.

He pulled back.

"Please, tell me your name."

"Don't get yourself killed and I will." His eyes were full of questions. Most of which she could never answer.

"Stay here. I will come and get you when it's safe." He sealed that promise with a hard quick kiss. Then his heat was gone and he had joined the fray.

She should go.

This was the perfect time to slip away into the night.

She couldn't.

Felicity watched as Oliver with precision took a man down with only his hand. Swiftly removing the man of his weapon, as his body laid crumpled on the ground. More people joined into the fray causing Felicity to fight off a wave of nausea. She could go into shock later. Right now she couldn't think that she was covered in someone else's blood, that bodies littered the ground, and that Oliver jumped feet first into the danger.

She then saw China White. Watched, hopelessly, as she moved like a ghost through the chaos and sunk a blade into the Oliver's side as he fought with two of her men.

Blood pooled from the wound. Felicity's hands found their way to cover her mouth and she fought back a gut wrenching sob. She watched as Oliver fished off the two men in a swift movement as he turned his body causing the blade to cut deeper, but he had White by her wrist. A snap cut through the night, the sound of a wrist breaking. His other hand was on her throat, Waller's men were there then.

It was over. Oliver fell to the ground.

XxX

"Don't tell him who I am or my part in this."

Felicity sat in a top secret room in an agency that she wasn't supposed to know existed. It was stark and bare, the white walls were something that would find their way into her nightmares. Well, it might not just be the walls, but the man that way laying in the bed, hooked up to tubes and wires. Oliver was not meant to be in a place like this. He was meant to be that man who was quick to smile and flirt with such a fire in his eyes that you'd never forget him.

"He'll want to know what happened to the blonde."

"You never saw me. I snuck away." The words sounded sour on her tongue. Waller looked at her with a penetrating gaze. Too bad it did nothing. Felicity could see how it could be effective though, Amanda Waller could be a very scary individual.

Running her fingers through his hair once again in an off-handed sort of way, Felicity leveled her focus on the woman in the doorway. "Who is he to you Ms. Smoak?"

"My ex-fiancé, which isn't as exciting as it sounds." He stirred lightly against her touch and Felicity froze. She needed to go. Needed to leave after the cluster outside of the club, but he had been so pale and she couldn't leave him. No, like a fool she'd sat by his side babbling none stop while he was unconscious.

"And he doesn't know your name?"

"It was a whirlwind romance." Letting out a sigh, she pushed herself up sparing one last glance at Oliver. He really was something spectacular and he needed to keep his perfect butt out of trouble or she would never get a good night's rest again. "I need to go. Coast City doesn't seem to be working out for me. It's a shame. I'd just convinced the police that I wouldn't be a problem."

With tight sardonic smile, Felicity glided from the room, pausing only when she was passing Waller, "If you endanger him more than he already does himself, I will destroy you and I promise you that it will be a slow sweet torture."

She disappeared into the hallway. It was time to find a new place to call home, Gotham maybe; Wayne Enterprise was always looking for new IT personnel after all. And she really should have placed a tracker on Oliver, but she was hoping his phone would be enough. Maybe after this, he'd stop and she could have a life that wasn't partly devoted to watching out for his wellbeing. A girl could hope.

XxX

"She seems smittened with you." Bright blue eyes met her dark brown ones. Oliver's face was blank of emotions as he responded, "took my wallet."

* * *

Notes: I'm sorry I've been MIA! I'm still kinda iffy on the chapter, I may go back and rework it a bit.

Hopefully you enjoy this chapter, it's not as fun as the previous 2 but I wanted it to be a tad bit darker because, well Oliver is. I like the rough and scary Oliver from season 1 and kinda wanted to lightly touch on it. I also wanted to show them in their domain, Felicity is a badass in what she does and so is Oliver. They are older, three more years have passed and I wanted a 'semi-normal' meeting for them this time around. The wallet thing is now just a running gag which amuses me, and a way Felicity show's her feelings.

I have no beta...I tend to write late at night...I own every single on of my errors...I am sorry...

I really hope I haven't failed this story.


	4. Chapter 4

"I do have things to do, like my job." Glaring at the mirror, she knew that there where cops watching her, "but it's cool. Leave me in this little room and let me do nothing; when I could be a contributing member to society. No one even offered me a cool refreshing beverage," leaning back in the chair she let out a sigh; if they were trying to sweat her out they had picked the wrong girl.

She had been going through this for quite a bit of her life. It was the life her father had pulled her into. The life that her ex had left her for. A life that she still walked a fine line of from time to time. Being pulled into interrogation rooms was nothing new. And she hadn't don't anything that would get her into serious trouble in quite some time so this was just something tied to her father, she was certain.

Felicity had moved back to Starling after accepting a job with Merlyn Global and now seemed like the perfect time to get acquainted with the police force seeing as that seemed to be the deal with every city she ended up in. It had taken them over a month to contact her and ask her to please come down to the station, which was rather impressive.  
Last time in Gotham, she'd woken up to a fleet of patrol cars in her driveway just over a few days of her moving into town.  
Starling was a bit behind on the uptake.

Still, when the police had phoned her and asked her, rather politely she might add, if she could come in within the hour. She thought it best to come and not press her luck with them. Even though it meant having to let work know that she would be late coming in.  
Brand new job and she was already calling in.  
This was the best way to make a positive lasting impression.  
Stupid cops.  
And FBI.  
And Argus.

Really, they had her on file. She was harmless. She was certain that she had proven herself over the years. But no, heaven forbid law enforcement leave her well enough alone, they did enjoy throwing their weight around. Laughable really.  
If she were in any real danger, they'd see just how the opposite of harmless she could be when backed into a corner.

There was a light sound of metal clicking and her attention focused on the door that was opening, "And what do we have behind door number one?"

Show time! Time to prove that she was just the sweet, fiery, IT girl next door. Easy enough roll to play seeing how those generic terms could apply to her on a good day. She swung her legs down off the table as a man appeared in the entrance way, his face was easily two days past needing a shave, dark blonde hair, startling blue eyes, charming smile, and he was all too familiar.  
Frack. Frack. Double Frack!

She knew she should have kept closer tabs on the man. But no, she'd become complacent and now the most attractive male she's ever met had gotten the drop on her or maybe she wanted him to get the drop on her. Frack.  
He was law enforcement.  
She had a collection of three of his wallets.  
Maybe she should send them to the station anonymously. A sign of good faith.

Then it hit her. If she was here, and he was here, then he knew who she was and who her father was. The sensation that washed over her was poisonous. She never wanted her world and his to collide, to pull him down, which always happened. There was no sense hiding from him anymore. After eight long years, the gig was up. Time to face the fact that she'd be tainted in his eyes.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Their eyes met, a small forced smile graced her lips, but the unmistakable heat in his gaze gave her pause. He had aged nicely and it was clear that he knew it, still looked like someone who people would pay just stare at. A model. Why the hell hadn't she gone with model? No, her brain went straight to a job where people would just stare at him.

"Apology not accepted, maybe if you had…"

"Brought a cool refreshing beverage?" Placing a water bottle on the table he took a seat across from her before running a hand through his hair. It wasn't at short as the last time she'd seen him and his jaw was covered in a thick layer of scruff, she tried to forget the way it had felt against her palm, "I do believe you owe me your name."

He was like a dog with a bone.

"Come off of it. I know you pulled my file or else I wouldn't be here. Plus it's in your hand and I can see my name on it. Wait, are you dyslexic? If you are, then I apologize. Because I wouldn't mock you if you weren't able to read and now I am babbling - that's truly just fantastic." A real smile spread across his face as she mortified herself.

"Is that how you want to do this? Here I am trying to be friendly, I bring you a water, give you this nice room…" He pulled her attention and continued on as though she hadn't said seventy-five percent of her previous statement.  
Ada Lovelace bless him for that.

"Felicity Meghan Smoak, my father is the wanted felon Damien Darhk, which, I'm assuming, is the reason why I was asked to be here today, because my father just can't help himself." Opening the bottled water, she brought it to her lips, noticing how his eyes focused on her lips, before quickly finding her eyes again.

"Have you been in contact with your father recently?"

"No."

"When was the last time you had contact with him?"

"You've never introduced yourself. Sure you have a file on me, and probably already know that I haven't seen or spoke to my father in five years, and yet you expect me to answer all your silly little questions without knowing anything about you. Seems a little unfair to me," leaning in slightly, she stared at him with her large eyes. She knew him. If it was on the internet she could find it after all, and by the pregnant pause that followed and the way his muscles ticked in his jaw, Felicity was certain that he knew that she knew exactly who he was.  
After all, it's not every day the daughter of a world renowned criminal swipes your wallet. Multiple times.  
Although, he might not know that it was her that took it. Crowded places can be dangerous after all and things get misplaced all the time. At least for that first time.

"I'm detective Oliver Queen. I'll be the person who you'll be dealing with directly during if any questions come up." His voice was a mix of smooth and rough, he had a calming effect but it also caused heat to pool into her stomach. Oliver Queen was still a charmer.

Felicity hated charming men; they always had something to hide. The men in her life had taught her that one. She had spoken this mantra nearly any time her mind wandered to thoughts about Oliver.  
The man had crawled under her skin. Not really. He did take up the starring role in most of her fantasies and she had spent several years exhausting a lot of effort to keep him safe. There was no need for him to ever know that fact.  
She'd never admit to enjoying his particular charm.  
The voice telling her to climb him like a tree was back in full force and chipping away at her self-control.

"Detective Queen," he held her gaze and she let out a breath of air. "I know that my father isn't the most lawful man in the world. We had a falling out during my second year of college, and I haven't seen or heard from the man since. Actually that's a lie. Every now and then he'll send me a postcard, which I promptly shred." This was not something she wanted to talk about, her father always sent her stomach on an uneasy course. She needed to get out of there and fast. "So, I'm hoping that wraps up this little date. It's rather sad you went to such lengths to find me. I mean really detective."

Pushing herself up, she smoothed out her fitted skirt, thinking for the first time that she probably shouldn't have had her legs up on the table earlier. But she had been going for a look. And the legs crossed on the table helped give the causal rebellion she was aiming for, or at least she hoped so.

"Ms. Smoak, do you know who this man is?" Pulling out a picture, he slide it over to her.

"That's Cooper Sheldon. He may have been my boyfriend a few years back when we were both at MIT. And he may have become my father's newest partner. But I really don't know, nor do I care to know. No, actually why are you showing me this picture? Why am I here? Is this not just the usual, we've found out the daughter of the world's leading cyber hackers is our city's newest member and this is her welcome package? Not that I'm not enjoying reconnecting with you without the sounds of flushing toilets in the background while stuck in a tree while the Chinese Triad try to kill us." This was not going as smoothly as she'd like. She needed him to know that she was average. Well, not average, but definitely not a criminal mastermind, "I'm not a criminal."  
Nailed it.

"And what do you call-" he flipped a page, "computer hacking."

"A hobby?" She attempted a flirty smile which was met with raised eyebrow, "Which I don't engage in. Anymore. Not as often. If it can be helped." Felicity let out a long sigh, pushing up her glasses with one hand so she could pinch the bridge of her nose with the other.

"You've hacked me." It wasn't a question. His voice was low and gruff, and Felicity wanted nothing more than to be gone. Oliver Queen was smart, the man would put the pieces together quickly.

"If I had, it would just to be to check in and make sure you weren't trying to get yourself killed."

"Now it's time I return the favor. Cooper Sheldon attacked. His attackers left a message for your father, that you were next if he didn't reveal himself."

"Cooper was attacked?" Felicity should feel something at that news. She had thought herself in love with him, but she was not overcome with grief, she felt bad that he was attacked but whatever connection they had was severed the moment he chose her father over her.  
Still, had someone told his mom? They weren't close, at least they hadn't been close five years ago. Felicity wondered in what shape Cooper was and had the insane notion of visiting him, just to make certain with her own two eyes that he was alive.

"Yes. I can't go into details, but I'm here to offer you protection." Olive had cop face on. The hardness that she'd seen in him last time still lined his eyes and mouth, but he wasn't as detached. His eyes shone with promise and Felicity had the feeling in the pit of her gut that this man would die if it meant protecting her.

She met his gaze with her bored one, "Thanks. But no thanks."

XxX

Well, now her deep dark secret was out. Not out-out exactly, there wasn't a large neon sign over her head saying 'my father is the most wanted cyber hacker in the world and my ex-boyfriend left me to work for him.'  
No. There was none of that, but Oliver knew. And for some reason, it felt like the same exact thing.

She knew that they'd never have a chance. Knew it that moment in the bathroom, but she'd entangled her way into his life, watching over him, helping keep him safe. If her father ever found out that she'd hid Oliver from him, she wasn't sure what he'd do.

The man was capable of anything. He was never ruffled, his anger never burnt hot, it was ice; he'd destroy a man's life without raising his voice and a small passive smile on his lips. She was tainted by him, it was a stain in a white dress that no matter what she did, she could never rid herself of.

Her life was moving from city to city, trying not to be noticed. As she did jobs that she could do in her sleep, they didn't challenge her and she thrived off of a challenge, off of making a difference, and she knew her smarts were going to waste. Who would hire her to do demanding projects in computer science? No one. They'd see her father's ghost in their background checks. She'd made those mistakes early on. She'd thought she could out run her name and cut him off. She was naive.

Coming to Starling was a gamble. She knew that Oliver was working as a detective, but never figured that he'd be the one to have her pulled in, all of her secrets neatly organized in a file in his hand. Stupid.

Felicity pulled at her hair, which was pulled up into a high pony tail, needing to do something with her hands, refusing to let the powerful emotions take hold of her. Oliver was digging into her father now, she would have to lend an invisible hand and stay on her toes because he'd need her if he had any chance against him. So what if he'd never look at her with heat filled eyes again, she was a big girl and she was not a swooner and she hated charming men.

What she really needed to get through the night was a family sized box of Cocoa Puffs and a pint mint chocolate chip ice cream, possibly a half gallon. It had not been a pleasant day (understatement of the year).

Reaching the aisle which contained the cocoa goodness she was in desperate need of, she surveyed the shelves, her eyes flicking quickly along the shelves looking for the familiar box before pausing and she lunged for the large brown box. Pulling it to her chest, she held it protectively, before shuffling off to the frozen section in search of ice cream all the while mumbling threats against the men in her life.  
Felicity needed to go to where Wonder Woman was from. There was supposed to be no men there that they were all Amazon warriors, but she was sure they could come to an arrangement. They'd take her in after she told them about her plight. But then Oliver would be without her expertise and would get himself killed and then she'd feel guilty for the rest of her life.

"Franking Oliver Queen." It was a hostile mumble as she rounded the corner and stopping dead in her tracks.  
Fracking Oliver Queen was standing in the ice cream aisle, holding what appeared to be mint chocolate chip, letting her eyes quickly take in the cases her back became rigid.  
He was holding the last mint chocolate chip.  
This would not do.

He stood there with a look of surprise in his stunning eyes and a softer expression came over his hard features. She wondered if he'd let her paint him…with chocolate…and then let her lick it off…  
Her brain was not allowed to go there. He knew her secret. He wouldn't want her. All she wanted was the ice cream, not the man.

And then her mouth got away from her, "I'll wrestle you for the ice cream."

The edge of his mouth tipped up. The heat that pooled into her abdomen whenever he was near was really not fair, because it was starting to effect other parts of her body she really refused to let be effected by him. Stupid attractive, billionaires who put their lives in danger to help better the world.

"I stress eat." Why would she admit that?

Taking his eyes from her he looked at the ice cream container he held in his large hand, before moving his gaze back to her. It was like a caress, everywhere his eyes touched she felt the warmth. She needed to remove herself from the situation.  
But not without the ice cream.

"You'd wrestle me for this."

"I'd wrestle you for less. Right now however, I need that to survive." Felicity pointed a finger at the container while taking a calculated step forward, "You are a good guy, I'm sure you wouldn't want my death on your hands, when all you had to do was hand over the ice cream. Slowly with no sudden movements."

"Thought you wanted to wrestle for it?"

"You handing it over would be easier."

"You've never struck me as one who likes the easy way."

"Ah, well, you see I've had a bit of a rough day, no thanks to you, and if you let that melt so that I need to stick it in the freezer when I get home and wait for a half hour before the ice is brought back to the cream, you will find some very interesting information on the web about you the next day. That's right, I know things."

He was holding back a full smile at this point and still held the ice cream captive, "Blackmailing a detective? I could cuff you for that."

Images of him cuffing her sent her mind off to another place and she knew by his tone that he meant to illicit those thoughts. If she didn't know him, she'd thought he was just being cruel. Dangling the carrot, sort to speak. Maybe he thought that getting close to her he'd get to her father. That's what Cooper had done after all.

"Planning on cuffing me then?" There was way more heat in her voice than there should have been. She needed to get control over her body. Shaking her head she placed out her hand, "Detective, please hand over the ice cream. I am not in the mood for our usual banter." She really wasn't.

The teasing expression fell from his face and a soft look of concern lined his features, he moved to her before she could process what he was doing. All thoughts of food fleeing from her. He was in her personal bubble, looking down at her with such a concerned expression she felt words bubbling up and getting caught in her throat.

"Felicity." Her name. The way his mouth stroked the syllables making up she name cause a smooth tremor inside her. It was the first time he'd said her name, all the while in the precinct it had been 'Ms. Smoak,' now, hearing the way he said her name it had become her new favorite word.  
Though with that single word, he tore the pretty pink Hello-Kitty Band-Aid she's place over the gaping wound her father had left behind. She felt everything at once. Things she'd bottled up over the pass twenty-four years came rushing at her, tearing at her insides.

Her father had taken her life from her and she doubted he even realized it.  
She was going through the motions of living without fully enjoying it. What was the point of living if she didn't feel alive?

The moment the damn broke and the ice of emotions took over, she found herself hauled into a warm embrace, felt Oliver's muscles tense around her as he dipped his head and spoke soft soothing words in her ear. Her hands clung the shirt he wore as she buried her face into his chest unable to meet his gaze.

XxX

What the frack was she thinking? Really. Like really really. How had she ended up in Oliver Queen's Loft wrapped in a blanket?

He'd slipped away to the kitchen and was now walking back with a large bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream mixed with Coco Puffs, and that image is what dreams were made of. Handing her the bowl she diverted her gaze, not able to meet his eyes as she took the bowl from him, "It was really unwise of you to bring me to your place. With who my father is and all."

Insecurities were attractive, right?

The couch dipped as Oliver sat down next to her, his arm draped over the back of it and she could feel his fingers lightly playing with wisps of her hair. She shoved a heavily laden spoon in her mouth. If it was full then she couldn't talk.

"If you wanted to find me, you could have easily. I figure the same can be said for your father. Besides I'd be the last person to judge someone based off of who their parents are. My father is in under house arrest for plans to destroy part of the city, did you know that?"

"I saw a headline for it, but I didn't read it. Honestly, I know very little about you, I know the basics. I found out who you were after our first meeting, dug pretty deep into who you were just because I got caught up in it all, and quickly realized that you'd be an easy target if my father ever found out we met. Instead of contacting you about your missing wallet, I kept my distance. Then the tree incident occurred, and the universe thought it would be funny to throw us back together, but then you were in the army." She paused, the words flowing from her like water from a broken dam, "So, in my spare time I kept tabs on missions and information, making changes when need be and contacting the right people if it came to that. I didn't know much about, never delved into your personal life, just tried to help. Kind of like I was trying to balance out my father's deeds in the universe; I wanted to do good. And I can't do much else in the world, I stay low on the ladder in the IT department, because no one wants the daughter of Damien Darhk to have too much power in their company. The FBI has a file on me. Argus has a file on me. Every city I go to, I get paid a visit by the police. Still, I helped you."

"Thank you." That was unexpected. Maybe not, he was alive thanks to her after all. Felicity shoved more ice cream into her mouth.

It's what she should have done when her mouth got away from her and laid out a monologue that was heavy with 'woe-is-me.' Oliver watched as she shoveled another scoop into her mouth, the concern he felt lined his eyes and caused his strong jaw to tense.

"I could have talked your father into more than two goats and an old computer." What the frack?

The confusion at his words caused her to stop middle shovel, she was not making herself more attractive in this man's eyes. Not that she wanted him to swoon for her, but she knew she was an utter hot mess who had a major slight meltdown on him not an hour ago.  
Oh no.  
Abort. Abort.

She shoved the spoon into her mouth to give her time to come to come up with a retort. This was weird.

"What are you talking about Willis?"

That boyish grin she'd seen eight years ago made an appearance, and she'd admit it, she almost swooned. His fingers pushed past her hair and grazed the back of her neck, his heat sending little shocks through her body, as he moved into her space.  
She'd focus on her ice cream, not at the 6'1" man who was dangerous to her health, or he could use his free hand to graze across her jaw line before lifting her face so that their eyes met.

"The bathroom incident where we were discussing our engagement, which you called off."

"Ah, the society pages really dissected our whirlwind romance and the cruel things they wrote. There was just too much between us." Oliver removed his hand from her jaw as she spoke, so he could free the of the now empty bowl she was cradling between her hands like it was a precious jewel. The action was domestic and normal and she craved more of it from him.

"There wasn't too much between Romeo and Juliet."

She quirked a quizzical brow at him. The day had been one of the most surreal she'd ever had and now it seemed like Detective Oliver Queen former Argus agent was saying in a roundabout way that he thought they could work. Which was crazy talk.

"Haven't you ever read Romeo and Juliet?"

"I didn't study Shakespeare at any of the four schools that I dropped out of." Why did he sound pleased at that fact? No, not pleased, that was self-deprecating humor. He was ashamed of his past, about how he acted. Felicity wanted to know more about how and why he'd dropped out of four schools. What must have been going on for him to have acted in such a way?

"Spoiler: Romeo and Juliet both die."

"Are you saying that if you go on a date with me that we'll both die?" Oliver's voice was soft and deep, the husky sound caused heat to rush over her skin. His eyes had darkened and moved hungrily from her own down to her lips. She stuck her tongue out to wet them before her words but nearly forgot how to speak when his body grew rigid the moment the pink of her tongue appeared and he honed in on the movement. Her body reacted in kind.

"I'm saying that's not a risk I'm willing to take." Felicity tried to assort authority into her voice, but it came out husky and intimate. All she'd wanted was to keep him safe.

"I can take care of myself, Felicity." The way he said her name. No one should be able to say her name like that. This had been another reason she didn't want to tell him her name, she knew all he'd have to do was say her name and she'd be even more involved.

Frack it all to hell. She was swooning.

"It's cute you think that." With that, she threw off the blanket and pushed herself to her feet, effectively ruining the charged moment. "Now, I really must go because of reasons that I can't make up at this present moment. They are good ones though. Oh, like how you're the detective who claims he's going to protect me, whatever thing that was, you'd probably lose your job. And I prefer you being a detective, it's less stress because when you were in Argus I swear, I ran on pure caffeine some days."

"You declined protection and I've wanted you since I saw you drying your jeans."

"I do know how to lure the men in. I should write a book."

She nearly tripped over her feet as she moved toward the door, scooping up her purse while Oliver moved with the grace of a predator following close. The doorknob was in her hand when his large rough palm met hers and her body shifted angling to face him.

"You didn't try to get my wallet this time. That's disappointing."

"You placed it in your room the moment we got here." Or else I would have. Those words remained unspoken between them. "Besides you've gotten wise to when my hands are near you"

"I look forward to our next meeting Felicity." His free hand brushed down her back, then moved up to cup the back of her neck before moving to her cheek. Instinctively she leaned into his touch letting out a sigh as she closed her eyes in order to gain some strength. Oliver placed a lingering kiss to her forehead.

"Just don't call me into the station just because you miss me."

"I'll be seeing you Felicity." She caught his bright smile before she was engulfed in his heat as he pulled her into a hug, "Stay safe." Those two words were heavy and all she could do was nod in agreement into his form. This time it was goodbye she promised herself.

XxX  
The next morning when Felicity went to pay for her morning latte she realized her wallet was missing.  
Fracking Oliver Queen.

* * *

Notes:

Okay, so I've always known that I wanted Oliver to end up as a cop/detective which would force reveal Felicity to him. This was heavily dealing Felicity's character in this world and I hope I was able to catch how twisted and complex her mind is working at the moment. I like to think that Oliver quickly put the pieces together when he realized who she was and that she'd been looking out for him. It's almost a slight role reversal, Oliver knows that they could be great if Felicity could just give herself over to him.  
Oliver does take her wallet. It was his turn dammit! Wallet stealing as flirting is pleasing me more than it should.

As for more chapters, idly I'd like two more, so just be patient with me which I know sucks the big one.

I have no beta...I tend to write late at night...I own every single on of my errors...I am sorry...

I really hope I haven't failed this story.


	5. Chapter 5

Nine days. Nine days since she last had her wallet.  
It didn't contain much, but she had an excellent picture on her driver's license which was unheard of, and she was not willing to give it up that easily.

Sure, she had stolen Oliver's wallet (multiple times) and this was just him getting back at her, but she couldn't let it slide. Taking wallets was her thing and asking for her name was his, it's like he didn't understand their relationship at all.

Granted he now knew her name, who her father was, and she'd spilt her guts to him over a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Well most of her guts, there were a few incidents she didn't think Oliver was ready to hear, or maybe she just wasn't ready to tell. She was not ready to go down that path which would lead to deep self revelations, not at seven-thirty on a Tuesday morning, in a small café which hadn't been updated since the seventies if the gold and avocado coloring was anything to go on. Still they made the caramel latte in the city, and she needed a morning dose of caffeine and sugar.

Felicity sat in the back booth, picking at a chocolate muffin that was roughly the size of a softball and sipping her latte. For the past nine days, she'd been trying to figure out the best way to get back her wallet without seeing Oliver Queen, because being in the same space with him could not happen. There was a pull to him, she wanted his strength around her, to just curl up in his arms and let the world fade away. She could also do with feeling the heat of his mouth on hers, it had been years but she could still feel his lips when she recalled the memory and it caused a fire to spark low in her abdomen.

Ada Lovelace, she was getting herself worked up with no chance of release.

She needed to keep her distance from Oliver.

Or he could show up at the cafe.  
Which is what he did.

Standing in the door way in the early morning light with his attention on his phone, giving her a spectacular profile view.

The universe was a cruel cruel place, Felicity must have done something during a previous life, she was really holding on to that notion.

Doing what every sane person does when they see someone they are hiding from, she threw herself on the booth's bench and rolled off of it as quickly and smoothly as she could muster, till she was squatting under the table. Felicity deserved a medal for that, a gold medal, with a star on it, because the dress and heels combo she was rocking was not conducive to the stealth move she'd pulled off.

Shuffling forward as she crouched like a gnome, bending to prevent her head from hitting the underside of the table. Peering out, her gaze zeroed in on Oliver as he stepped up to the counter, shoving his phone into the back pocket of his jeans. Her eyes admired his back side for several moments longer than was necessary, then with her eyes skimming passed the gun her wore on his belt, her eyes moved up to exposed forearms which were sinewy with obvious muscle.

Was there anything hotter than a man with rolled up sleeve? Oliver in suspenders might be, with a few buttons of his shirt undone, and she was losing track of the goal: not to be seen.

If he left after getting his order then she'd just slide back up into her booth. If not, she'd need to figure out how get from her table to the exit without him spotting her.

Army crawl.  
She would just army crawl the moment his back was to her. Maybe she'd be able to swipe his phone; holding it for ransom, it was one way to get back her wallet.

Did army crawling across a dated café's floor to avoid a man who she was attracted to make her a coward?  
Yes.  
In this moment did she care?  
Frack no.

Then again, she was putting a lot of power in Oliver's hands. That was not okay. She did not back down from a challenge. They lived in the same city, he was investigating her father, they were bound to cross paths. Crawling on the floor to avoid him let him have the power, and for eight years she'd been the one to yield the power, she couldn't go down so easily.

Legs appeared in front of her, snapping Felicity out of the inter-ramblings of her mind. They were the shapely legs of the middle aged waitress who floated around the café to make sure everyone had what they needed.

"Hun, are you alright?" She had a light southern drawl and a concerned expression lining her pretty face. Felicity painted on a smile and lied through her teeth.

"Peachy, just thought I lost a contact." Nailed it. Sometimes having a super evil genius as your father had its benefits.

"You wear contacts with your glasses?" And sometimes being super frazzled by seeing the man who've been playing cat and mouse with for years cancelled out all her father's teachings. He would have been disappointed. Hell, she was disappointed. Felicity could turn this around. The woman was genuinely curious, but the moment that Felicity had spoken she felt Oliver's attention like he had a radar sensor on alert to pick up her voice.

There was no use in army crawling now. Pushing herself up, she ran a hand through her loose waves before smoothing out her dress, "No, that was a lie, I'm sorry, actually, I'd like to know who I can talk to about have Oliver Queen arrested."

"Ma'am?" The woman clearly thought her slightly off balance, but she wanted Oliver to hear her statement and seeing as he had radar on her and the fact that he was lazily strolling to them, she figured he'd heard.

"Felicity." His tone was a warning one, though it was tinged with a playful amusement that baffled her. He'd come to stand by her side, his height towering over her, even in the four-inch heels she was wearing. Her body responded to his presence and she wondered if he had a similar reaction. Giving him her attention she narrowed her eyes.

"Hush, I'm talking to this lovely lady to find out how to get you arrested."

"I'd say you should call the police if you wanted to his arrested?" It came out as a question. The poor waitress was clearly not up for this kind of conversation. Felicity's focus however was on Oliver and the way he was fighting back a grin.

"I am the police." He would bring that up.

"So, does that mean you can arrest yourself, or do I need to get myself a pair of handcuffs and make a civilian arrest?"

"The only way you are handcuffing me is if we're naked in bed and cuffs are furry." Well that was forward. And painted a very nice picture. Really any situation where Oliver Queen was naked would paint a very nice picture; not that she'd ever tell him that. Then their conversations would revolve around him being naked while he tired to rile her up.

"You'd trust me that much."

"Felicity, once I get you, I don't plan on letting go." The playful ton was missing, the weight of his words were heavy as they settled around her. Did he just insinuate what she thought he had? A shiver trailed down her spine as she held his gaze which was boring into her. This was getting much to serious.

"You heard that right? He plans on keeping me against my will." Though all three of them knew that was untrue. Not even the best actress in the world could have sold that line. It was starting to hit her, that she would gladly be wherever Oliver Queen was and if the looks he'd given her was any indication he would gladly be wherever she was. Holy frack. It was too early for these type of revelations.

His hand found its way to the small of her back, the heat searing through the fabric of her dress. She fought her need to lean into him. Oliver spoke as he guided Felicity back into her booth and slid in beside her, his thigh pressing against hers, "It is too early to be talking about handcuffs with you. Let's finish breakfast first."

The waitress took that as her cue to flew, but not before telling Oliver that she'd bring him his order once it was done. Several beats passed as Oliver watched as Felicity picked at her half eaten muffin.  
Well this was fun.

"I'd like my phone back." There was a smile in his voice. Why there was a smile in his voice she didn't know. Well, she did. This was a game. Admittedly, it was a stupid game, but it was their game. She turned to face him in her seat, the length of his thigh pressing even closer to her own. Oliver raised a questioning eyebrow at her movement, the corners of his lips tipped up.

"I'd like my wallet back. Seems like we both have something the other wants."

Wrong this to say. Wrong thing to say. The warning bells were going off in her head as his eyes turned heated and she felt her whole body shiver at the gleam in his eyes. Yes, the man was light, he was someone who was meant to do good, but dark gaze he was giving her now spoke of the bad he wanted to do to her. He could have asked her to sign a contract in blood giving up her voice for the rest of her life and in that moment she would have done it. The power had shifted, but she didn't know if it was bad. No longer did she have the upper hand. They were equals now and for some reason, she enjoyed it more. These revelations, really needed to cease and desist.

Averting her eyes, she pulled in her lips and counting down from five in her head to try and keep her blush at bay. She failed.

Felicity wondered why he'd want her, but was able to answer her own question. She knew how he saw her, and she felt the chemistry between them, but she felt like this was the only way she could keep him safe, by keeping her distance.

"Felicity," He said her name like it was a prayer, his arm thrown over the back of the booth so that his heat and scent washed over her. The way he said her name cause her to turn and look up at him, a flush of uncertainty colored his cheeks. He looked boyish and shy, shy was never a word she'd associate with Oliver, but here he was looking shy and if she wasn't mistaken a bit nervous.

"Would you like to have dinner?" Her brain did not comprehend.

"We're having breakfast." Way to point out the obvious. But her words and confused tone got a smile out of him. The waitress came then, putting down Oliver's healthy breakfast of oatmeal, fruit and yogurt in front of him. Felicity would stick with sugar to and carbs to get her morning off right, thank you very much, and then spend her daily forty-five minutes on the elliptical with maybe a few crunches thrown in if she was in the mood to really feel the burn.

"I'd like to take you out for dinner. Figured you took my phone because you wanted to put your number in it. It's the only reason I let you take it." The chunk of delicious chocolate muffin she'd place in her mouth lost flavor as she looked at him like he'd grown a second head. She'd heard wrong. Swallowing down the tasteless food in her mouth, then ran her tongue across her teeth hoping that she wasn't about to resemble a pirate with poor dental when she as her question.

"Like a date date?"

"It has been eight years since we were engaged, I'd like to know my ex-fiance better."

"You have a file on me."

"Yes, and now I'd like to get to know you."

"In public?" Where people could see them? He wanted to be seen with her? He wanted to get to know her? Why was this taking a hot second to compute in her brain? Oliver Queen wanted to take bathroom girl out on a date date.

"Pretty much where ever you want."

"You like me."

"Yeah."

"Okay." What the hell was her mouth doing? It had formed the word before she had time to talk herself out of it. And damn his smile, his whole face lit up, it was like looking into the sun it was so bright. Did her agreeing to go out with him actually make him that happy? And was his happiness making her happy?

Frack.

"Wait." His face grew serious and her stomach fell. Was he rethinking? Pushing his hand into the front right pocket of his jeans, she watch as the fabric stretched and outlined all that it hid; hello, Mr. Queen. When he pulled his hand back out, her pink polka-dot wallet came with it. He handed it to her.

"Felicity, would you like to have dinner with me?" She gripped the wallet. Her wallet. She held all the cards, had full control. Oliver she knew liked control but gave it to her because he wanted her to feel comfortable.

This moment had been in the making for years. Maybe that's why the universe kept throwing them together, maybe the universe actually liked her and she was just being stubborn.

"Yes."

XxX

The people who designed the dress Felicity was wearing needed to be damned to hell for eternity, but at the same time be graced with sainthood because spectacular things were going on with her butt. And if she said so herself, her bum was pretty much spectacular to begin with.

Clenching and unclenching the package in her hand, she followed the host through the dimly lit restaurant. The place was stunning and intimate and it was hitting her now that this was the first time that this was a normal thing. Could her and Oliver do normal? How normal could the daughter of one of the most wanted men and an ex-Argus agent turned detective really be? The bigger question is, would they enjoy normal?

All of their other meetings had been memorable, but there was something that crackled in the air that told her not to write off tonight, that it could be the most memorable yet.

Oliver stood as she approached, smiling and open, he moved to close the distance and she stuck out her hand with the package. Taking it from her he smiled and gently guided her to her seat, pulling out her chair and allowing his hand to graze across her exposed shoulder before taking his seat across from her.

"You got me a gift."

"Only one way to find out." He pulled the top off of the colorful box and paused. Felicity nervously chewed on the bottom of her lip, and watched as he pulled out the first of three wallets she'd placed in the box. "It's not really gift, seeing as they are yours. But I found the hooligans who took them and risked my neck to get them for you."

She watched the small smile that graced his lips, the way his eyes scanned over them, his fingers smoothing over the leather. He didn't pick them up though. Didn't go through them, making sure she'd returned it all. No, he flicked his eyes to her and his expression almost stole her breath. He was holding memories, their memories, and she'd given him power that she'd taken. She had equaled the ground when she didn't need to.

Felicity was certain that if they weren't out in public he'd be taking off his tie with the intent of shedding the rest of his clothes. Then of course she'd have to do the same, because she didn't want power over Oliver Queen, she wanted him by her side.

"Sounds dangerous."

"It was. Luckily I'm a big girl and can handle myself."

"Except when it comes to heights." He would bring that up. Placing the box on the table, he took her hand. Hers looked so small compared to his, her smooth skin a stark contrast to his weathered callous ones. They were both people of action, just different actions; him with his hands and her with her computer.

She wondered if he even knew how many times she'd saved his life, how many times she'd hacked a mission to make sure that all involved were as safe as possible. It didn't matter, she just helped out where she could.

"Gravity is a cruel mistress and I am not one to tempt her. What about you? What mistress won't you tempt? And by that I mean what are you afraid of? I'm trying the who get to know you thing but I'm use to our banter and not small talk." Could she be more awkward? Honestly, she could. She wanted this to go well, but she didn't have the best social skills when it came to things that seemed to matter. Though Oliver didn't seem to mind.

No, in fact he had a serious look that mixed well brightness in his eyes and he played lazily with her hand.

"Do you remember the night in the club with the Triad?"

"Kind of difficult to forget." She'd walked to pretty much her certain death to make sure he didn't. Only he almost had. It wasn't one of their better meetings.

"When I realized you were there, that you wouldn't go without me, that you were in danger. That was it. Now I find out about your father and that people out there want to get to you to get to him and I won't let that happen. Nothing bad will happen to those I care about if I can help it."

Words stuck in her throat. Yeah, she could get use to having him becoming a permanent presence in her life.

"You are remarkable Oliver Queen."

XxX

By the time dinner had ended, Felicity was on board of the Oliver Queen train. Everything about them was natural and she had nothing to hide, both of them had their cards out on the table and it put her at ease. The banter between them was quick, causing smiles and laughs to be ever-present in the evening.

Oliver thought she was brilliant and hung on to her words as she babbled on about computer science for a good half hour, till she was blushing and telling him he should have stopped her. In turn Oliver talked about his work, family and friends. He was in the middle of a story about John Diggle, his partner in the precinct, and how they'd gone 'undercover' for a couple of hours with a sector of the Russian mob in the city, where Oliver was using skills and connections he'd met while being and Argus agent.

She was holding back a laugh as he was recounting in detail how the 'shit had hit the fan,' when the chiming of her phone had her pulling it from her bag apologizing to Oliver, "I mentioned to a friend from college that I had a date tonight, I think she's checking in to make sure you haven't killed me and stolen my body."

"What lies have you been telling her about me?"

"That the first time we met you were staring into the women's bathroom."

"When you say it like that…" He faded off, his smile widening. Felicity shook her head as she turned her attention back to her phone and veins filled with ice.

It wasn't a text message; the screen of her phone had gone black and a single word in a green pixilated font: Peanut.

Frack. Her face must have shown her distress, because Oliver was at her side instantly; crouching to be more on her seated level, his blue eyes bright with genuine worry.

"Felicity? What's wrong?" His hands were on her cheeks, anchoring her to him, his heat barely cutting through the ice in her veins. He wasn't safe. He wasn't safe because of her. No, she'd keep his safe, but it might ruin everything she'd hoped they would be. "Felicity?"

"He's going to ruin this." She focused on him, bringing herself back, and touched her hand to his on her cheek just wanting to keep his strength, "My father's trying to contact me."

Her phone chimed again. A new word appeared on the screen: Run.

In an instant, Oliver's large body surrounded her as he knocked her to the floor. The sound sounds of screaming, shattering glass, and explosions filled the restaurant making it a war zone. And Oliver, Oliver Queen was on top of her, putting him in-between her and chaos. She'd thought many times about him on top of her, but none like this.

The sounds became fainter as Felicity's eyes grew heavy, her mind actively fought against her body. Something was wrong. Closing her eyes would not help.

Oliver was gathering her into his arms. He had such nice arms. Big and strong and could probably hold her up against a wall…and she was not going there as she was fighting to stay conscious. Through the fog of her mind, she heard his voice calling her name, then there was a sense of falling, of losing the strength surrounding her, and she fell into darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

There are few things in the world that warrant the way Felicity's head was pounding. The first one to come to mind was heavily drinking tequila while singing in a bar in Mexico pretending her problems didn't exist. She was ninety-nine percent sure she had not done that, there were no sounds of chickens, and there were always sounds of chickens for some reason after her drinking and singing sessions at dive bars in Mexico.

No, her head throbbed with each beat of her heart, which she had never realized beat so damn loud or beat so often. Honestly she half wished her heart would beat less just to take away from the agony her head was causing her. On top of her brain trying to escape her skull, her mouth was dry with a copper tinge to her taste, her limbs seemed to be too heavy to lift, or possibly immobilized, and she knew that the second scenario that came to her was most likely correct. It had only happened to her once before, and she had not been a fan, but she recognized the feeling of being bound to a chair.

Granted, last time she'd been kidnapped when conscious then tortured over the course of a weekend.  
This whole waking up to having been kidnapped and feeling like she'd been put through a blender was new.  
She had a feeling that she wouldn't like this way any better than she'd enjoyed her first kidnapping experience.

Oliver.

Felicity's eyes snapped opened, and she thanked Ada Lovelace that the room was dark or she was certain that her head would have exploded. The events leading up to this moment swirled through her angry brain causing waves of nausea to roll through her.  
They had been on a date. A really fantastic date that she had been hoping would lead to more everything. Then her phone had gone off, and her father, her father had told her to run. The last image she could pull from that night was Oliver shielding her with his body and the restaurant erupted in chaos.

Where was he? Did they take him? Did her father do this? Or was he trying to warn her?

She couldn't imagine that he'd hurt her. For all his faults, and he had enough to fill all the books in the world, her father loved her, or so she thought. Had seeing her with Oliver pushed him over that razor thin edge he walked?  
One thing was for certain, she had to pull herself together and figure out a way to get out of this alive, and possibly save Oliver Queen…again. She'd just realized how much she wanted him in her life and she was not about to let that him go; neither one of them was going to die if she had anything to say about it.

XxX

"Blondie." The metal chair rattled against the cement of the floor and she fought off a grimace as she opened her eyes to face the man who stood before her in a threatening manner, his light eyes contracted with his tan skin and artificially platinum hair. The suit he wore was not one from off the rack, the fit was impeccable, though he'd taken one too many steroids over his life for it to actually look good on him. Didn't he know what steroids did to the body? And by the looks of him, anyone who would chose to be with him-with him would be sorely unsatisfied. Not that he'd probably mind. She had him pegged as a one-two-pump-and-done type.

"Your originality astounds me." Sure her words were slurred slightly and it was taking every ounce of power to come off bored, but she felt like she pulled it off well (enough).

"That smart mouth of yours is gonna get you in trouble." Wasn't that the truth. He popped a button to open his suit jacket to expose the gun he had on his hip. It was a move meant to intimidated. She was terrified but didn't want him to see, didn't want him to get pleasure from the fear that had taken root in her body.

"You know what? I've heard that before." Taking a quick pause Felicity gathered up her strength, " Now, why am I here? Please don't say because you wanted a date, I'm seeing someone. It's new, but I have a good feeling." The scowl the man wore couldn't hide his incredulity at her words. She needed to throw him off balance, to have him not see her as a threat, and most of all, she needed more alone time in the room.

Felicity had hoped for rope. Rope was relatively easy to get out of. She had been detained by duct tape, because that was the new go to for baddies. Detained with her arms behind the back of the chair which restricted her movements. Still, she had slowly been pulling her arms back as far as she could and then slamming them down and apart on the back of the chair. Her wrist were going to be black and blue by the end of it, but the duct tape was giving way and she had nearly gotten a hand free when she heard the door opening and then Mr. Steroid showed up to ruin her escape plan.

He really needed to go.

"You're dating Queen?" His tone was incredulous which caused her to hold her chin a little higher.

"Well it was one date, that I believe you crashed. Still, I think he likes me."

"Does he know who your father is?"

Damn daddy-dearest, no matter how much space she tried to put between them, she would always be in his orbit. With what she hoped was a bored expression, she met his gaze full on and asked is a quiet voice that was full of warning, "Do you?"

"Your father is the man who took everything from me and who I'm going to kill."

"Seems like you do know him. Now why am I here? Good ole dad and I really haven't spoken in oh say about six years or so now. I don't really see how you having me works into your plan of killing him. And you do know that Oliver Queen is a Detective? I'm just not following your plan."

"You're going to be the star of your very own video."

Mr. Steroid gave her a leering smile. Bile was rising in her throat as the fear burned white hot in her veins. She'd gotten out of this situation once before, she could do it again. The man continued to talk as though she hadn't spoke a word. She had no clue what kind of video he had in mind, but she would have no part in it.

"No thank you." Felicity spoke in the most polite tone that she could muster, as though she was declining an invitation for tea.

"And Queen is no threat." That's all it took. Five words and her back became ramrod straight. She no longer minded if she had an audience anymore and began the slight moves behind her back to free her hands from the tearing duct tape.

Her life on the grand cosmic scale was insignificant. Hell, so was Oliver's.

But he was doing good in the world, in his city. Oliver was dragged into this because of her. He could still be doing good if she hadn't come into his life, if she had just stayed well enough away. What could she say she'd really done for the betterment of mankind? She moved from city to city getting jobs as the most overqualified IT girl the world has ever known; once she got out of this, that would change.

No. This was not what she thought.  
She would not let the situation drag her down that path, because she and Oliver were cut from the same cloth. Just as she had run head long into danger for him, she knew he would do the same for her without a second thought. They both had good left to do.

They had more dates to go on.  
And the duct tape torn.

"Why's that?" She barely recognized her own voice, it was razor sharp and deadly.

"My men left him for dead in the burning restaurant." She choked down the sick feeling that was tearing at her insides, but her emotions must have played across her face because the brute gave a satisfied smile that made her want to knee him in the groin, tie him up and then pluck each hair from his body – starting with his eyelashes.

He could be lying to get this reaction from her. She refused to count Oliver out yet; he was a survivor.  
If anyone could pull off the impossible it was Oliver Jonas Queen.

"When I get out of here, you are going to wish it was my father that was just my father coming after you."

"Big talk for a scared tied up little girl." The man leaned in close where his hot breath fanned across her face, the smell was minty but pungent and she fought back another wave of nausea . His body was lax, as he goaded over her, his eyes running the course over her body as his guard lowered.

That's all she needed, just a window of an opening. Throwing her elbow up and across she hit him squarely in the temple, while her other hand came up and she shoved her palm up and broke his nose with a satisfying crunch. Blood poured out as he stumbled back, but not before she'd gotten hold of his gun. Her actions took seconds.

He staggered still conscious, his face was twisted into an ugly look of pain, disbelief and fury. Oh yes, he was seeing red and that was not just from the blood gushing from his nose. With jerky movements he made to grab for her, Felicity swung the butt of the gun down hard across his temple. He fell hard to the ground in a crumpled heap, unconscious.

Using the back of her hand that wasn't holding the gun she wiped her lips to rid them of his blood that spattered on her face. It smeared across hShe needed to move. Bending down tore frantically at the duct tape that bonded her legs to the legs of the chair, all while being ever watchful of her surroundings.

She hated this, hated to have to use any of the physical skills that her father had taught her. The whole hitting, guns and blood thing was not her speed. Granted they weren't always her father's way, seeing as he was the number one cyber criminal, but he was dangerous in more ways than one. He'd made certain that Felicity could take care of herself.

Crouching beside her kidnapper, she methodically went over his person, pulling out his wallet and thumbed through it to make sure it had the information she needed before quickly stowing it in her bra, then retrieved the knife he had unsealed on his ankle under the leg of his pants. She was going to ruin him. She was thinking big time too, as in every cent he had ever made would be gone, any dirt she could find would be public knowledge, and he was being handed over to the authorities or he could spend his life running from her. The thought of him being scared of her for the rest of his life did give her a tiny shiver of excitement, but she was better than that.

Finding his phone, she dialed in the emergency number as she moved a window that was covered in heavy newspaper.  
"911. What is your emergency?" The male voice was much to chipper.

"I've been kidnapped, I don't know wher…" Her words died on her lips as the shadows at the second story of the building moved. Pivoting on the balls of her feet she tried to fade into the darkness, placing the phone on mute she put it down on the ground. She wore the heels she'd chosen for her date with Oliver still, not trusting the ground enough to go barefoot, but as the shadows began to take on larger more masculine shapes she was thinking that the heels would need to go if she had any hopes of stealth.

The dress might also need a high slit put in it, which would be a shame, because although the dress was a torture device, she looked damn good in it. Still, she'd rather be alive.

The two men were poised for a fight, their bodies taut as they swept through the room like ghosts. She needed for them to not see her, because she really did not like her odds against two. One was fine, two was not so much. Plus if she got any more blood on her she was going to lose the last hold she had on keeping herself together.

It was times like these that she really disliked her father's business dealings. He'd thought that giving her her mother's maiden name would keep her away from his world, but obviously he was sorely mistaken. Because here she was, in a creepy dark building, in who knows where, and Oliver might be dead. And if she let herself dwell on that thought for even a moment she would lose it all.

She had just realized her feelings for Oliver Queen. He was not allowed to be dead or badly injured because she was making plans for the two of them. Long, stable plans; plans that could possibly last forever.

Hell, she had swooned.  
She was a swooner.  
She wanted to swoon all over him.

As thoughts of swooning flew through her rattled mind, she noticed out of the corner of her eye the main door open and three figures make their way in only to stop abruptly at the sight of the brute crumpled on the ground. Felicity also clocked two others entering from the back, but they were moving differently, all three groups seemed to be separate from one another.  
She was going to be in the middle of a war.

The three from the door came storming in, calling loudly for reinforcements; two of the three were propelled back and the three drew his weapon. One of the shadowy figures stepped out and quickly took his gun from him before placing him in a hold. The hoodie he wore obscured his face from view, but the moment he spoke, even though it was a low dangerous growl compared to his normal voice, she knew.

"Where is the girl?"

Oliver.

The man he was holding refused to answer. He couldn't, he didn't know where she was.  
Oliver all but growled as he threw the man to the ground only to advance on him taking out the gun he had holstered on his hip, "If you've harmed one hair on her." He was a predator. Even in the dark, his body clad in a hoodie and jeans she could sense his muscles rippling, could feel his barely restrained self-control.

She wanted to run to him. He was alive. She was alive. He'd come for her. All of the adrenaline that was holding her together left her body, her senses that were on high alert dulled, and the moment she gave into the feeling of safety, a hand covered her mouth and she feel the cold metal of a knife at her throat.  
Great.  
This was just what the situation needed.

She had the gun still, but his blade was already slightly cutting the skin on her neck. The blood was warm on her cold skin. Her new friend didn't say anything. No instead he was choosing to speak with his fingers digging into her cheeks and the knife that was steadily drawing more blood.  
Felicity needed that blood.

"Arrow, you wouldn't break your own no killing rule? Not for some girl?" A woman's voice cut through the room and the two Felicity had made coming in the back had made themselves known. Felicity had heard that name before. It was from when Oliver had worked for ARGUS, it was his code name.

There were too many people. And she had one too many knives placed at her throat.

"She's not some girl. What are you doing here?"

"Waller sent us, she was," there was a pause, "worried."

Deciding that this was the perfect time to make his grand entrance with her, he pushed her forward with his body pressing against her back, and she fought not to stumble into the blade. Felicity knew at that moment she was a disaster, her hair was a mess, her wrists had begun to bruise something ugly, she was covered in the brute's blood and now her own, she felt dirty, but she didn't feel weak.

Every head in the room snapped to the two of them, but she only saw Oliver.

Oliver whose jaw was ticking in rage, his eyes were black and hard, and he held a gun at his side as though it was a natural extension of his hand. She'd seen that look one too many times when he had worked for ARGUS, but seeing it in person, seeing how dangerous he could be that if he wanted he could easily be a killer.

Oliver didn't choose the darkness though. No, he protected and didn't let everything diminish his good. Yes, he was dirty and scarred, but he never gave in fully to the darkness.

"Let her go." The cold anger in his voice was abrasive on her skin. Her eyes shifted away from him and she saw her father stand several feet behind and to the right of Oliver; he was cold and detached with his fury, which scared Felicity. She didn't know what her father would do.

In the back of her mind she half wondered if Oliver was regretting asking her out at this point. This wasn't the time nor place to be thinking that, but it was there, nagging at her. She really hoped he didn't regret it.

"I think I will slit her throat while her father watches." Felicity felt her newest captor to press his pelvis into her, hitting her low in the back and she felt his excitement at the very thought of his words. Yep, there was the bile again.

"I will kill you if you make a single move to hurt her." Oliver's voice was lethal. She didn't want Oliver to kill because of her; that was not how this was going to go down. She wasn't feeling weak or frightened, she felt pissed as all get out and was not going be brought down by this low life scum.

Let's face it, he didn't think she was all that intimidating and with that, she stomped on his foot, brought her head back to crash against his chin and shove her hands on his forearm to push away the knife.  
Both of them went sailing back in opposite directions, in an instant she was on the ground sprawled on her hands and knees feeling the concrete floor scrapping her skin causing a new bite of pain. The man was on the ground behind her, she had heard the sound of his back then skull meeting the floor, and then she saw the flash of her father as he bolted passed her. Turning her head to follow his progression, she watched as her father joined the man on the ground, his hands wrapped around the man's throat. Even in the darkness of the room she saw the man's face turning a violent red, as he struggled against her father.

Oliver had rushed to where she had push herself up to an awkward sitting position on the floor. She was dazed, the adrenalin crashing her system leaving her light headed and her body was much too heavy. The cut at her neck wasn't deep, and it was superficial, but he ran his fingers around it accessing the damage. Then his hands were on her face as he kneeled down on the ground to be at her level, his hands moving over her skin, his eyes slowly faded from the black to the vibrant blue that were bright with unshed tears. His touch was like coming home and she melted into him, exhaustion settling in as he pulled her into his lap and Felicity clung to him as the tears came.  
Her whole body shook as he held her. The heat from him warming her and cutting through the shock he body seemed to be in. Pressing her face into the crook of his neck she inhale his deeply masculine scent and began to regain her wits. She was safe. Oliver had come for her. Oliver was alive. She was safe in his arms.

"For our second date, I promise not to get kidnapped." Her voice was a rasp, and he pulled her tighter against him. She was dimly aware of the ARGUS agents trying to restrain her father from killing the man who held the knife to her. The only thing that was her world in that moment was being in Oliver's arms as he pressed kisses into her hair and warmed her skin with his heat. Felicity could feel his body shaking slightly as he held her, he had laughed at her attempt at humor. Granted she was sure it was due to the ending of the tense situation and not her comedic skills.

One of the agents had made her way over to where they sat, she was a beautiful woman with light brown hair and a warm smile. Holding out a clean piece of cloth to Oliver she gave a nod in the direction of Felicity's throat, "You have two men in your life that would stop at nothing to get you back. Waller thought better for everyone if we got to you sooner rather than later. Though you seemed to have held your own just fine."

"I'm scrappy when pushed into a corner."

Oliver was holding the cloth to her throat and not getting her hints that she could manage on her own. Hell, in the span of an hour she'd taken down two men who wanted to kill her, she was sure he could hold the cloth up. One look up at Oliver though, she thought it best to let him do what he wanted. He needed to be doing something.

The agent gave a final warm smile and turned back to her partner.

"I'm sorry you were put in a position where you'd have possibly chosen to kill the scum man."

"Felicity, he had you and he was going to kill you. There was no choice to make."

The weight of his words blanketed them and she fought back the urge to jump him right there and then. Instead she burrowed deeper into his warmth, "Just to let you know, as far as first dates go. I've had worse."  
That earned her a real smile.

XxX

Oliver and her father had teamed up. She needed to repeat the words a hundred more times before they sunk into her brain, because she was certain it was just the slight concussion talking.  
By the time the police and ambulance had arrived, the only person who was left with her was Oliver because he refused to leave her side. The ARGUS agents had dipped out, leaving her father behind, and Felicity took that to mean that he and Amanda Waller had come up with an agreement that she knew she wanted no part in knowing.

She was then left with her father and Oliver. Her father and Oliver who had teamed up. Her father and Oliver who had teamed up to find her. One of the FBI's ten most wanted and a police detective teamed up because they wanted to find her.

"Peanut." The strain and hurt in her father's voice was like a punch to the gut. "This is my fault. I never wanted my life to touch you."

She was silent. She wanted to forgive him, at the core of her she did, but no matter what happened, the life he lead was his addiction and he wasn't strong enough to give it up.

"I love you. I would do anything for you."

"Except give yourself up, give up this life."

The look on his face told it all. Pulling in her lips, Felicity swallowed back tears as she leaned into Oliver for support, "I love you dad, but the next time, Oliver will arrest you and I won't stop him." Her voice barely cracked which she was going to count as a win. He gave her a nod, his eyes gleaming with unshed tears. He knew what this was.

"I will always be there if you need me." Emotion choked his words and Felicity felt her heart constrict. She had thought herself done with her father. So many years ago she'd written him off, but he was there for her, and she knew he always would be. She just couldn't promise him the same. She did the only thing she could do, she stepped forward and without any car, she wrapped her arms around his waist it a hug. It had been so long since she had hugged her father,she couldn't conjure up a clear memory of the last time that she had. His arms slid around her and she let out a breath as she pulled herself together to take a step back and say the words that she needed to, "And I will always love you."

"Goodbye Peanut."

"Goodbye dad." Noah's eyes were filled with emotions he pulled away from her embrace but kept their hands connected for a heartbeat. With a last squeeze of her hand and a nod of silent communication with Oliver, Noah Kuttler disappeared into the night just as the sirens could be heard in the distance.

Then she had sat in an ambulance, wrapped in a blanket while an EMT checked her over, with Oliver sticking as close as possible and he had all but growled when they had tried to separate them for the initial statement taking. He was using any and all pull he had as a detective.

"You growling is not helping my head nor is it making any of this go faster."

"I want to get you home." Which home was he talking about? Because by his he-man attitude he had going on right now, she felt that when he said 'get you home' he was talking about his place. It sent a thrill up her spine and caused heat to swirl low in her abdomen. She could work with his place being home. She had never really ever had a home.

"And I wanted to keep that dress, but now it gets to become evidence and I'm stuck in your oversized hoodie and the sweatpants that I'm pretty sure were made for a giant."

"I'll buy you another dress."

"You will not be my sugar daddy."

"If I want to by my girlfriend a dress, I will by her a dress."

"We've had one date bucko, that does not make me your girlfriend."

"Felicity," The way he said her name caused shivers to run along her spine and heat to pool deep in her abdomen, "I'm pretty sure I told you once I get you, I wasn't letting go."

"I'm not a swooner." She all but shouted. There was an intense look in his eyes, in was possessive and sweet. He was looking at her like she was the only thing he'd ever wanted in his life and she knew even with all her bravado she looked at him in the same damn way.  
His lips had kicked up at her words causing his playful smile to come out, his hand found its way to the side of her neck. The rough pad of his thumb grazed her jaw with long strokes and she had to fight for breath. Everything about him called to her. Everything about him had called to her when she was sixteen and caught in a wholly embarrassing situation.

"Well I am."

Now that was startling.  
Not startling so much as surprising.  
He was Oliver Queen after all, the man didn't come across as the type that would swoon. No, he was the sweep the girl off her feet and then carry her around kinda person.  
Granted he did say her name like he savored each syllable, like her name was a prayer, and that did something to her. "You are?"

"Yes."

"Since when."

"Since the first time you took my wallet." He didn't give her time to respond or even fully process the information, before his lips were upon hers. It was a soft kiss, like he was afraid that she would break, but in the same breath it was all consuming. Felicity modeled herself to him, pushing her breast against his chest as his large hands cupped her cheeks, his thumbs moving softly over her cheek bones as his tongue grazed her lips and she opened for him on a soft gasp. All the chill had left her body because she was pretty certain that she was on fire.

"I've never had a home," Felicity managed to say on a heated sigh. Why she decided that this was the optimal time to tell him that, she had no idea. Really in the middle of making out with Oliver Queen, was not the time to burst random words out at him.  
Granted they weren't random. She knew that. Still they carried a heavy meaning and she had no clue how he would react. But as she watched him through hooded lust filled eyes as face became soft and his eyes seemed to darken in an inky blue that made her bite her bottom lip. He knew.

"You've got one now." Then he kissed her. Slow and soft. Stoking the fire that he had ignited, his hot tongue danced with her own, as he pushed deeper all the while keeping the kiss slow and languid. Felicity felt every bit of her body give into him and his respond in kind. Oliver pulled back giving her one more light kiss, before looking at her, his smile lighting up his face, "Now, let's get you home."  
With those words she had to cling to him as her body melted.

So, she was a swooner when it came to Oliver Queen.  
She could live with that.


	7. Epilogue

This must be one of the inner rings of hell must be like.

Honestly, who in their right mind would pay to watch oversized grown men - who clearly had some anger problems – play keep away, with a puck, while gliding around ice on razor sharp blades. Oliver, that's who. Plus all the other boisterous people filling the stadium. Felicity just did not get it.

Every time a man got smashed into the glass surrounding the arena the crowd surged to its feet and decided that yelling was the best course of actions. Yelling was something that made everything better, and of course the referees would take the yelling into thought when making their split minute decision.

Felicity had narrowly dodged having beer sloshed on her leg by the burly man sitting to her left. He was deeply into the game and was there with his young son who had stars in his eyes. She was situated to Oliver's left and was intent on keeping a keen eye out for anything that might have mustard on it, because she had already been there and gotten the t-shirt where mustard and sporting events combined.  
More like she got it on her jeans. It didn't matter. It wasn't going to happen again.  
No way.  
No how.

One of the hockey players grabbed control of the puck and went flying down the stretch of ice, the section she was sitting in became frenzied as the puck was passed to one of his teammates.  
There was tension.  
There was yelling and hoots.  
There was Felicity wondering how many teeth and/or brain cells had each player lost while participating in this ridiculous games.  
There was the puck flying into the goal net and the team that she was there 'supporting' scored.

Damn but she missed the civilized society of computers and wires. It was the last thought she had before she was hauled up and found herself incased in Oliver's heat. He was cheering his team on, caught up in the excitement before turning his electric smile and gaze on her. And she couldn't help herself, she had to smile.  
She loved everything about that man.

The pass six months had been bliss.

Not to say that bliss was perfect. There had been a number of times that she thought she'd like nothing more than to wring Oliver's neck; he could be overbearing and pushy, and that was on a good day. But he made her happy in every way. They had fallen in to an easy rhythm and Felicity found the natural ebb and flow of their relationship kept her on her toes and kept her wanting more.  
Yes, there were times he knocked her feet out from under her, but he was always there to catch her.  
-

A month into their relationship, she got to her place to find that everything she owned was gone. True, she didn't own a lot. Moving a lot, never staying in the same place for too long, had taught her to be light on personal items. Still everything that was hers was gone from her apartment.  
Not thinking, she called Oliver.

"I've been robbed!" Was her greeting when he picked up her call.

"You sure?" Was his asinine response.  
Of course she was sure!  
She was standing in her place, which was barren. Well the furniture which had come with the apartment was still there but all of her stuff was gone. Gone. Disappeared. Poof! "None of my things are in my apartment!"

"They're at mine." It was at those words that her brain began to rapid fire and then just gave up trying to compute his words. Really, he just decided to move her in with him? They had barely been together a month! She had food in her that was older than their relationship.  
And on that note, she really needed to clean out her fridge.  
Oh no wait.  
She walked over and jerked the fridge open. It was barren.

"Oliver." She all but growled out, slamming the door Felicity turned on her heel, "Where are you?"

"Home."

"I'm heading over to kill you."

"Looking forward to it."

When she had arrived, it was to find Oliver lighting candles on his dining room table, which had been set for two. She did however note that her stuff was not at his loft, she was thinking the small moving truck downstairs held all of her worldly possessions.

Oliver looked up with a smoking match in his hand and his bone melting smile. She was not going to give in on this. It was too soon and what they had was good. Felicity did not want to mess with a good thing. She did not want him to decide that he didn't want her – even if he had made it extremely clear that he wanted every bit of her.  
He had been dropping hints of her moving in since the she had come back to his place after being kidnapped.

Oliver had tucked her into bed and joined only after she asked in a barely audible voice. That night she'd fallen asleep surrounded by his warmth, and it was the best sleep she could remember having. Before she had fallen into dream land she heard him whisper into her neck that he could get used to this.

Now however, she was going to let all of what made Oliver Queen irresistible to her, sway her resolve.

"You are not charming your way out of this."

"Felicity," the smoothness of his tone caused a shiver to run up her spine, it was a damn good feeling, and he proceeded to charm his way out of it. Warm words and loving touches and a deep raw conversation.

Her anger melted away at the way his nerves made his words catch, and the way he would close his eyes before he spoke as though he was looking for inner strength.

Felicity found herself with his hands on either side of her neck and fighting back the urge to swipe the table and pull him down on it. Then he said the words, he had been laying it all out about what he wanted, but then he said those words and she turned liquid.  
"Felicity Smoak, I love you."

She found herself moved in fully by the weekend.

And of course over the six months they'd been together, Felicity couldn't help herself. She tried. She really did. She had been good for just under two months.  
Then she hacked into the SCPD.

Oliver had been stressed about a case and was working himself to the bone. Clearly he needed her guidance. And she was not about him being stressed out when she could make the situation easier. She had done it while he was a part of ARGUS and she would do it now. Hell, he needed her help. Plus he would never find out.

He found out.  
He was an interesting mix of pissed, impressed, admiring, and annoyed. His face kept the 'I'm a serious detective' look while his lips tried hard not to quirk up at the corners and his eyes shone bright with a look that made her shiver with pride.

He loved her smarts and how protective she was. But Oliver had this weird thing about not wanting to arrest the woman he love, and knowing he couldn't stop her once she had her mind set on something he did something about it.

She became a consultant to the SCPD.  
A damn good one.  
It was fulfilling work and gave her talent a purpose. It was something she never thought she'd ever do in her life. Hell she didn't come from the best family for a background check and in the past she had actively gone out of her way to avoid police stations. Now she was working for one and it actually made her happy.

"My father is a criminal master mind and now I work for the coppers." There was a sing-song nature to her voice as she tagged a seat on the corner of Oliver's desk, pushing aside a cup of coffee that had gone cold.

"Remember the point in time when you didn't want anyone to know who your father was?"

"Yes and I vividly remember you telling me it didn't matter. Then I remember being kidnapped, beating some serious ass. Still it was nice how all the human scum ended up donating all their ill-gotten gains to those less fortunate. I think they found religion while in the big house."

Oliver was shaking his head at her but couldn't hold back his smile. Felicity had done some not so legal computer work to break apart all those involved in her kidnapping, it was through and not one of them had slipped through her grasp. Yes, she had them persecuted by the legal route, but anything she could do to them via a computer, she had.  
It was brutal in the best way.  
It gave her the closure she needed. And others, it gave them a ton of money.

"Remember your boyfriend is a detective." He pushed himself up from his chair, pining her with a look as he rolled his shoulders

"Remember your girlfriend is a bad ass genius."

"It's not something I would forget easily." Oliver placed a kiss on her forehead, "Now give me back my wallet. I'm starting to get hell around here that you keep pick pocketing me."

"Aw, your street-cred is taking a blow."

"Felicity." Sliding from his desk and pushing up on her toes she gave him a light kiss as she seamlessly placed his wallet in his pocket, he was taking her out to lunch after all.

Letting her hand rest against his hard chest she looked up at his with her bright smile and said, "I'm like the criminal with a heart of gold working for the po-po. This is stuff they make into movies. Do you think I can get a badge?"

Oliver gave her a pointed look. Later she foundwallet was missing from her purse, but she did have a kid's plastic police badge.

She couldn't remember a time where she was truly happy and comfortable being herself. He loved every inch of her imperfect person and she was head over heels for him. It's how he'd roped her into going to the hockey game.  
Oliver had kissed her and muddled her brain as his fingers had trailed under her shirt and across her skin. By the time he had gotten around to asking her to go to the game with him, she would have given him anything he would have asked for.

Now she was going to have to pay him back.  
Yes, stealing his wallet wasn't really pay back. But it had become their thing. To her it was as cute and romantic as anything, but it could also be frustrating as hell the moment you realized it had been picked. His was currently living in her back left pocket of her jeans. She had pocketed it after he'd gotten her a vanilla latte and himself a beer.

This place was freezing.  
She was feeling half popsicle like and couldn't imagine consuming a cold beverage.  
Felicity question just how human he was sometimes.

The excitement finally settled after the goal and he gave her forehead a brief kiss before releasing her so she could take her seat once again.  
There were nachos in her seat.  
Hot processed yellow cheese nachos in her seat.  
The in which she had plopped down in, in a very un-lady like manner.

Not. Again.  
Sporting events were her own personal circle of hell. This just solidified it.

Getting to her feet as gracefully as possible, she contorted her body to assess the damage.  
It was bad.  
There was a glob of yellow cheese with a nacho chip hanging from it on her left cheek, it was a stark contrast to her dark skinny denim jeans.

The burly man whose nachos they were began to apologize as she pulled in her lips, closed her eyes and gave a short silent prayer, asking to be beamed far away. Felicity felt Oliver's hand in her own, so she turned to look at him. There was concern on his face but she could see the internal battle behind his eyes as he tried to hold back a smile.

Letting out a deep sigh, "Please tell me hockey has a different bathroom set up than baseball."

Oliver lost the battle with his smile.

"Wish I could." Liar.

His hands found her hips and he rotated her so he was looking point blank at the damn glob. There was a beat, and then another, and then it had gone on for far too long.  
He was admiring his view.  
With an eye roll, Felicity turned back to him and gave his shoulder a slap, he grinned up at her, one of his hands still resting on her.

"Go along bathroom girl." His said in his low warm voice.

"I do hope you enjoy sleeping on the couch." She threatened Oliver as she pushed passed him. The threat held little weight and he knew it, but it sounded good.

XxX

Her ass was on the drier.

She had managed to get out the cheese with a bit of effort. The whole twisting her body around because she refused to take off her jeans had added a special level of complexity to the removal process. But she had done it.

Now, she needed them dry. Like super dry. It was freezing in the arena and she was not about to go back and die from hypothermia from a damn sporting game. No, she was going to die in a blaze of glory, in her bed…from old age.

There was one perk to all of this. The drier didn't have a button. Motion sensors all the way as Felicity angled her hips up enough for the sensor to be triggers. So now she was bent at the waist her hips thrown out and up as she wiggled her butt at the drier to trigger the sensor and let out the stream of hot air.

That's when he walked by.  
Because was she really going to get to have a humiliating bathroom experience without Oliver Queen being present?  
The answer was no.

He was the walking definition of sex and Felicity knew it well. His fair hair was buzzed short and he was sporting a well pass five 0'clock shadow along his angular jawline. His large body, made of hard muscles which she had explored at great length many a night, was leaning causally against the entrance way as though this was an everyday occurrence for him. The forest green thermal Henley he wore was stretched across his broad chest and seemed to accent his muscles.  
Felicity decided that he need to partake in wearing those more often.

Shoving his hand in his front pockets as his eyes swept over her body, causing heat to pool in her belly, before coming up to meet her gaze. A slow seductive grin spread across his face.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer." This time around, her words held a flirty edge. His grin got bigger and his eyes flashed; she knew he remembered.

"Just trying to figure out what you're doing."

"You know. Having tea with the queen. Just couldn't pass up the opportunity to have tea with the Queen, it's a once in a lifetime treat." There was no hostility in her voice but there was a dry edge that cause Oliver to bite his smiling lip.

The drier died down and she wiggled her hips to kick it back into high gear, her movements caused his eyes to darken. Then there was a flash in them that she couldn't place.  
Felicity could read Oliver well, but she didn't know what that flash in his eyes meant.

"You are a snarky one." Oliver shifted his position before continuing, his full focus directed on her and she felt like she was sixteen again, "Maybe you can help me. I went to go buy my amazing girlfriend a pair of sweats, she seems to have this thing about having food getting on her at sporting events, but my wallet seems to be missing."

"There seems to be some accusation in your tone."

"Good."

Felicity smiled brightly at him, "You were going to buy me sweats?" He gave a brief nod, so she continued, "They cost a fortune plus your first born child here."

"Well, first, they are not getting our first born child and second, you only came with me because I asked. I know how you feel about sports."

"This is my way of professing my undying love for you. I'd sit through my own personal hell to make you happy. Also, there is a tech convention I want to go to next week and guess who gets to be my luck plus one?"

"I love you." His tone was deep, the air in the bathroom began to crackle with a different kind of electricity. Oliver went on, and she saw his muscles tense under his shirt, his fingers rubbing together. It was his nervous tick, and even with his hands still in his jeans' pocket she could tell.  
"Do you still want a short engagement?"

She sucked in breath at his question as she stared at him with wide eyes. The ability to talk fled from her. She was always able to talk. Always.  
Felicity was half certain that she came into this world talking and babbling, but now she was speechless.  
So she nodded.

If this was going where she thought it was going, she was going to need gain the speech ability back. Like now. She needed to tell him there was no way in hell they were going to have a western themed wedding, and really all she needed was him.

"I know it's an archaic tradition, but I asked your dad. Well not asked so much as told him, growled at him." Oliver's eyes went up and Felicity knew he was trying to get it together. His words didn't come out the way he wanted when, on the rare occasion, nerves got a hold of him. And Oliver rarely did nerves. She moved to him. Drying of her jeans completely forgotten.

Felicity stopped a foot in front of him. Her hand had begun to shake.

"When?" Look at her, she formed a word.

"The night you were kidnapped. Told him I intended on spending the rest of my life with you so he was going to suck it up and help me find you."

"That was six months ago!"

"Felicity. I've known for years." Years?!

"How many goats am I worth?" It was a hysterical question. She was frazzled. He was skirting around the issue and she need him to blurt it out so that that she could blurt out her response. And then, maybe, just maybe he would whisk her back home and they wouldn't leave the bed for at least two days.

"You have my wallet." He ignored her questions about goats. Instead stating the obvious. She figured he knew she'd take his wallet at some point as payback. It was their thing. Why was he bringing up his wallet at a moment like this?  
Oliver continued, "I was planning to do this at home after the game."

Oh. The light dawned.  
She had his wallet.  
He had planned for her to take it.  
He wanted her to take it.

"What's in your wallet?" Her voice was throaty and full of emotions. She was pretty sure her heart was now living in her throat so any words making it passed it were bond to come out throaty.

"Felicity." The way he said her name, like he savored every syllable, like he was couldn't believe she was there with him. He moved against her in what would appear to be an intimate gesture but it was simply to retrieve his wallet from her jacket.

Felicity watched as his hands shook slightly. It was barely noticeable, but it was there. He open the leather fold and there, where he kept his ID was a stunning ring. Simple, classic, timeless.  
Scratch that it wasn't stunning. It was breath taking all consuming and completely perfect because he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her and that symbolized it.  
Oliver slowly lowered himself to a knee. There in the doorway of the women's bathroom at a hockey arena, he held his wallet open and Felicity was sure her breath had taken a trip to Europe. Her hands covered her mouth as her eyes began to glisten.

"You are by far the best thing in my life. You've kept me on my toes. You continue to have my back. You make me a better man. And I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else. Felicity Smoak, please make me the luckiest man in the world. Will you marry me?"

Everything slowed.  
Flashes of all the moments that lead to this flashed before her. She relived everything in a flash, the emotions beginning to roll over her in waves.

Oliver Queen was kneeling in front of her, in a women's bathroom at a sporting event when minutes before she was trying to dry her pants, the poetic justice was not lost on her.  
Oliver Queen was asking her to spend the rest of her life with him.  
Felicity couldn't think of anything that she wanted more.

With a head nodded she lowered her the hands at her mouth, showing off her smile that was growing by the moment and reached for him. All of the tension fled from his body and he raised up to meet her as her arms came around his neck.

Surrounded by his warmth she gave him a verbal answer to his question, right before their lips met in a body melting kiss.

"Yes."

The End.

* * *

Notes:

I don't even know what to say...er, type.  
It's such a weird feeling to feel finally complete with this story, mainly because I've dragged it on for ages because I'm horrible about finding time to write. Sorry about that. Hope you all still love me any way!

This chapter/epilogue was probably the easiest chapter for me to write because I knew exactly where I wanted to take it. I knew the moment I decided to expand on this story that I wanted there to be symmetry between the first and final chapter.  
It turned out light and fluffy and was filled with banter; and I hope you all agree that it's the perfect note to finish this story on.

I want to thank you all for everything. For your reviews and kudos. For reaching out to me on different social media to talk. This fandom is amazing and you all are just so wonderful.

thank you for going along on the ride.  
I hope I did you all proud and as always, I hope I did not fail this story.


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